


K31T4

by CastielFollowMe



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Military, Anxiety, Blood, Droids, Experimentation, Gen, Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Prisoner of War, Racism, Soldiers, Space Military, Trauma, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-08
Updated: 2017-08-07
Packaged: 2018-12-12 13:35:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 38,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11738142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CastielFollowMe/pseuds/CastielFollowMe
Summary: The Galra and Earth have teamed up to defeat an enemy which they call, Alteans. As a reward, Shiro and his team are rewarded with the first service Droid, K31T4. But something about this Droid seems off to the team and there are more lies than truths when it comes to the Galra Empire.





	1. Altea

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! So this is the project I have been working on since January of this year! This was a project done for the Voltron General Bang on Tumblr and I'm so proud to have been a part of this Bang. This took all my blood, sweat and tears but I am so pumped for it to be finally published! If you know my work then you should know my style and prepare for some major fluff and angst. Seriously, this is your warning now (Side effects include: Screaming, crying, uncontrollable feels and sacrificing your hearts).
> 
> I'm also so thrilled to announce that there is artwork done for this fic, done by the amazing @dyedgreyillusions on tumblr! Pls be sure to check out my tumblr to see the link to their art @lordofthebigtimesupernatural and check them out because they were amazing and made such beautiful art for this fic! I was so happy to be paired with them.
> 
> I'm so happy to finally be allowed to share this fic with you and I do hope you enjoy!

  _“Is it not to be human, if a heat beats with love?”_

_“To be human is to have superior mental development; to have the power of articulate speech, and upright stance.”_

_“Yet, how can a being be all those things without a heart and without love?”_

_“We can’t.”_

x.x.V.x.x

             There was once a time where there was peace.

             It was long ago and in a distant past, of which only a few can remember. Only those gifted with longer life can remember a day where death did not despair throughout the universe. However, seldom beings like that lived after the wars. The few who remember the peace remain alive are hunted down by an enemy.

             But there are some who do remember. There are some who can remember a time where the suns were shining brightly and children laughed with one another, and there wasn’t a time of war that tore families apart and killed the ones we love. Although, they are few and scattered across the galaxy, unknown to the newer age of soldiers. They were hunted down by a powerful race, bent on destroying all life in the universe.

             Earth was not new to this war and had been a part of the wars against the enemy for over 500 years. However, with humans having that of a shorter lifespan, there are none who can remember what Earth was like in the time of before.

             In the time, before the Alteans.

             Alteans were nasty, dark creatures, who had captured planets and destroyed all life on these worlds, leaving none to spare. They hunted down races of aliens and eliminated them one after another until not a single survivor remained. They were the ones who first invaded Earth 500 years ago.

            It was the Galra who saved the humans.

             If not for the Galra, Earth would have been lost in the early memories of the war and humans would no longer live in this universe. It was thanks to the Galra empire that Earth survived and fought against the Altea, driving them back into the galaxy. If not for the Galra, then humans would have descended into extinction; forgotten in the histories of all who still lived.

             At least, that is what the Galra had told them, and how could Earth argue, when none from the original wars still lived. The Galra became an ally and together they fought against the Altea, until the day they killed the last Altean. This would happen all thanks to a special unit of Earth soldiers known as the Paladins of Voltron.

             Together they would change the history of the universe forever.

x.x.V.x.x

             “Shiro, you’ve got two on your tail, trailing from the left. They’re locked onto you.” Pidge’s voice filled the speakers of Takashi Shirogane’s headset. The lead Pilot of Earth’s Resistance Corps against the Alteans. The Black Paladin of Earth.

             “On it. Pidge, in coming flank from your right. Take ‘em to Hunk and Lance.” Shiro said, easily maneuvering out of range of the two enemy ships trailing him.

             “Yeah captain?”

             Shiro couldn’t help the long sigh or the amused smile on his lips. _How many times had he told him, to not call him captain?_ “Hit them _hard.”_ Shiro forced his ship to accelerate out of sight of the two enemy ships behind him. He maneuvered his Black ship to face the enemy ships before blasting them with the cannons on either side of his ship.

             “Hear that Hunk, we’re going to have a party with these Alteans!” Lance McClain shouted through their comm devices, causing Shiro to chuckle once more. He couldn’t help but admire the younger man’s enthusiasm even in the mist of fighting for their freedom. Though, Shiro could probably do better with less jokes from Lance.

             “Focus on the goal Lance. Voltron Paladins have a job to finish.” Shiro commanded softly as he fired at yet another Altean ship coming his way. From his own ship, Shiro could make out the green speeder ship, where Pidge was easily maneuvering in between asteroids while the enemy crashed. To their left, the yellow weapons ship was taking on a larger ship’s defense with the blue pilot ship tearing apart the haul of another command ship at its side. All around them, other Earth ships and ally ships were fighting against the ally, hoping to defeat the Alteans once and for all.

             “Zarkon’s given us the location of the Altea commander. Our job is vital and we need to find them and capture them as quick as possible.” Shiro continued to tell his team, knowing that they full well knew this mission and were fully prepared for it as he was. After all, they were considered the _best_ of the best.

Handpicked by Zarkon himself.

             “Right. These coordinates state that the commander of the Altea are located in the ship directly in front of us. Heavily guarded of course, but easily accessible.” Pidge announced with a nod of their head. Shiro smiled to himself. “I should easily be able to get in without being seen and draw a hole in the ship’s base for the rest of you to follow. From there, we can locate the commander and end this goddamn war once and for all.”

             “Pidge, language.” Shiro sighed when he aimed for another Altean ship headed his way and destroying it with a single blast. Although, even Shiro couldn’t hide his excitement at the possibility of ending the centuries long wars, once and for all. Wars that had taken place long before Shiro was even born.

             Shiro had been born into this war, as had Lance, Hunk and Pidge and everyone that Shiro had known. Of course, they had been. Earth had been invaded over 500 years ago. No human alive would remember life before the Altea attack on Earth. No one could ever remember what it was like to not live in fear of another attack or having to heavily guard the entire atmosphere of Earth. No one could remember what it was like to not have your child, at the age of 18 being drafted into the military and forced to fight in a never ending war against a bloodthirsty alien race. Shiro had been in the army since the day of his 18th birthday, straight out of the Garrison as a fighter pilot and a captain. He’d moved up the ranks of the military quite quickly and became a captain at an early age. However, with such power came terrible consequences and a year ago, Shiro found himself aboard a ship, held hostage, tortured and beaten while his men suffered at his sides.

             Shiro couldn’t remember much about his time aboard the _Altean_ ship, but he did remember escaping and landing back on Earth’s home ship, right on to a Galra and Human hybrid base with a robotic arm replacement, more scars than before and a severe case of amnesia. The twenty-five-year-old couldn’t even remember his pilot number nor his base commander, but what he could remember was torture and pain.

             This experience was one of the reasons that Shiro was excited for the war to end. So that no one else would be tortured as he and his team had. He also wanted to experience the flight through space without fighting or killing; without hurt and pain.

             Shiro simply wanted to be free.

             For himself, his family, for Lance, Pidge, Hunk and for all humankind.

             “Green and I are in. You’ve got two minutes to get in or we’re going to be overrun by Altean soldiers.” Pidge’s voice broke through Shiro’s thoughts. He blinked, realizing that he had spaced for a few seconds, before he flew his ship towards the bottom of the Altea ship before them. Already, Hunk and Lance were following Shiro, though Lance was lingering a bit more leisure in getting to the Altea ship, due to taunting several other smaller pilots fighting them.

             Thankfully Lance caught up without Shiro having to yell at him. Soon enough everyone was inside the main base of the Altea ships and exiting their ships. Each of which put their shields up before any Alteans could get inside them, and only their paladins could open them.

             “The commander should be inside the war room, just above us. No doubt _someone_ has figured out that we’re aboard the ship.” Pidge explained before fumbling with a few controls on a screen on their wrist. Shiro kept on high alert, just waiting for Altean soldiers to emerge from corners and surround them.

             “Alright. That means, Hunk and Lance will stay back with their ships when soldiers come down here. Stay in your ships. Pidge and I will make our way up to capture the commander.” Shiro explained quietly, receiving nods from everyone on his team. However, his gaze lingered on Pidge when he noticed their expression had darkened at mention of capturing the Altean leader.

“Alive.” Shiro reinforced when Pidge scowled darkly. It was hard to be mad at them considering what the Alteans had done to Pidge and their family.

             The Alteans were the reason for Shiro’s capture and the torture of him and his teammates. His teammates who happen to have been Pidge’s older brother and father. Both of whom were declared KIA and still missing, not yet having been found on any prison war ship. Shiro had considered Matt and Sam Holt to both have been excellent friends to him and it had pained to learn that he had escaped while they hadn’t, but he couldn’t even begin to imagine what it must have felt for Pidge to know their family was more than likely dead. All thanks to these alien creatures known as the Alteans.

             “Fine.” Pidge muttered bitterly before beginning to burn a hole through the roof above them. By now Lance and Hunk had both reentered their ships and put Pidge and Shiro in between them as the sounds of guns and lasers being shot could suddenly be heard. By now, Shiro knew that the Alteans had found them and they only had a small window of time in order to capture the commander.                     

             His sheer determination to end this war and avenge the deaths of his teammates kept Shiro fighting, even when the number of Altean soldiers doubled and surrounded them. Thankfully, Pidge had gotten through the floor above them and used their weapon to pull both them and Shiro up onto the floor above them. The battle below them slowly disappeared until Shiro could no longer hear it and Pidge set them down.

             The room that they had entered in was dark, nearly pitch black, and Shiro and Pidge were forced to use their night vision on their visors in order to see. The room was also fairly silent which put Shiro on edge immediately.

             He and the others had heard stories of horror about the Leader of the Alteans. They varied from person to person, creature to creature, as no one had ever seen the Leader and _lived_ to tell the tale. Most were war stories or thoughts about what the Leader looked like, but Shiro figured one of them had to have some truth to it.

             Some told of a dark and twisted King who had enslaved his own people, to forcibly follow his orders. An immortal creature that no longer resembled an Altean due to manipulating his body in order to live forever. After all, how could one rule over the entire Universe if they were no longer alive to rule? Tales told of a power-hungry King, driven mad by lust for power and grief.

             A dark soul, forever broken.

             Others told of an enchantress, who wove her threads of dark magic into even the smallest seams of time and space. It is said that any who look upon her, fall under her spell forever. It is said that she was so beautiful, many fell willingly under her spell, close enough for her to slaughter them right where they stood.

             A terrible beauty.

             Shiro didn’t know which of the tales were true, but he knew not to let his guard down. None of them did; no matter how young and foolish any of them might seem, there was a reason why they were picked as the Special Operations unit for the Galra Empire and the Human Race. They were Earth’s last hope. The universe’s last hope.

             Shiro could hear the soft sounds of skilled feet running across the floor behind them and his weaponized arm was already moving into position. Beside him, he could feel Pidge tense up as their own weapon rose to reveal a dark face. Shiro activated the screening device on his visor, which was said to help located _the Leader_ without any hesitation. Shiro was the only one with this ability, as he was the one trusted with the entirety of this mission.

             Shiro was surprised to find that the device did in fact work.

             Or did it?

             Apparently the Leader of the Altean army was the one in the room with Pidge and Shiro and headed _right at them._ Shiro was only shocked at the lack of guards – again, for the _Leader_ of the Altean army – around the figure, before he heard the sound of a metal staff coming towards him and Pidge. With quick reflexes, Shiro easily pulled Pidge aside and blocked the blow from the metal staff from the Leader with his weaponized arm as it began to glow. Behind him, Pidge was already heading to find a source of power for the room, without hesitation.

             Shiro felt a weak pulse of electricity drumming through the metal staff and onto his arm, only to be cut off by the power in his arm. It began to flow a brighter purple color and Shiro grunted against the force of the staff. He raised his arm up and finally looked into the face of his worst enemy.

             It was disappointing.

             Shiro would never admit out loud, but he hadn’t been expected the immortal leader of the Altean army to be so _old._ He wasn’t exactly expecting a man with lines around his eyes, haggard eyes that looked haunted to Shiro, and hair that was thinning and white. Though, he wasn’t quite sure _what_ he was expecting to be honest.

             _This certainly wasn’t it._

             Still, Shiro could see two distinct turquoise markings on the man’s cheeks just below his eyes, and the pointed tips of his ears. There was no doubt that this was an Altean. Apparently, this was the Leader of the Alteans. Meaning, Shiro had shut down any thoughts of surprise or curiosity towards his opponent and turned into a mode of attack.

             This was it.

             This would be the end to these blasted wars.

             An end to all this death.

             Shiro could feel his heart hammering in his chest as the weight of the reality finally sunk into his bones. He had the enemy right in front of him. The one thing that stood between Earth and peace. So of course, Shiro gave it all he had. He sucked in a deep breath as energy and magic pulsed through his arm, shocking the Leader for a moment, before Shiro was pulling back and blasting the ray of energy from his weaponized arm.

             The Altean Leader only had a second to move away, otherwise he would have dropped to the floor like a sack of potatoes. _Shiro missed Hunk’s potatoes._

             Despite his age and appearance, the Altean was nimble and could avoid being hit by the blast of energy. He had the build of a soldier, similar to Shiro, but even Shiro knew this Altean would be nimbler than him in a battle against one another. Shiro had to rely heavily on his strength and on a front attack. He didn’t expect his opponent to go down so easily and was prepared to fight to the death.

             “You do not know what is to come, young _human.”_ The Leader of the Alteans spoke suddenly, as he dodged another attack from Shiro. Shiro blinked, gulping in a breath of air and avoided a swing of the staff coming for him. He turned to stare at the Altean, teeth ground together.

             “I know that it is my duty to stop you, and end this war.” Shiro hissed and swung for another attack which the Leader narrowly avoided. “I _will_ stop you even if I must die to do so.”

             “You would be so willing to give your life away? For the _Galra?”_ The Leader asked, sounding more appalled than anything. Shiro almost snorted and rolled his eyes at the Altean behavior. He grunted when the staff came in contact with his chest and threw him back into a wall. Sparks flew all around him and metal crunched under impact.

             “It is better than being enslaved by you!” Shiro snarled, shakily rising to his feet. The Leader paused, not moving to strike at Shiro again and for yet another moment his eyes had softened.

             “You do not know what will come if the Galra win this war.” The Leader said darkly, eyes narrowed on Shiro’s form. Shiro barely avoided another strike, this time to his head, and jumped back. “You do not understand what is actually unfolding beneath your very eyes.”

             Shiro ignored the response and instead chose to silently blast yet another ball of energy towards the Leader. The edges of the Leader’s armor were singed black by the energy’s flames and he hissed towards Shiro.

             “That arm? Was it a _gift?”_ He asked mockingly, and Shiro nearly froze. His arm had always been a sore subject and he couldn’t seem to remember _how_ he had lost his arm. He simply remembered that it was during a fight with the Altean,  and he could remember waking up on a Galra base with his team declared dead and a new arm.

             Shiro knelt and fired his arm once more, this time catching the Leader in the arm and shoulder. The Leader hissed quietly and stumbled back while Shiro took another breath.

             “You must stop.” The Leader said quietly. Shiro almost hesitated at the pleading demand in the Altean voice. He didn’t sound threatening or demanding as Shiro would have thought an evil emperor would have sounded like. This Altean was just full of surprises today, wasn’t he?

             “Never.” Shiro snarled, after blinking back into reality before charging towards the Altean. _He had to end this. Today. Forever._

Instead of looking angry, the Leader simply looked sorrowful at Shiro and sighed. “I am sorry then.” Shiro didn’t have time to think before his entire body was suddenly consumed by a white-hot fire – _oh god, it burns, it burns, it burns. So hot, hot, hot._

             He could hear himself crying out and then Shiro couldn’t feel anything else but the fiery pain that was burning through his veins. His entire body felt as if it were full of molten lava and melting him from the inside and out. His lungs, his heart, his head.

             _This was it?_

             “Shiro!”

             Shiro thought the cry sounded muffled, as if he were underwater. He couldn’t even see who had shouted his name, as his vision blurred dangerously with the pain. _It burns, it burns, it burns._ Shiro couldn’t even tell if he was breathing anymore, the pain was so unbearable. He would do anything for it to stop – it hurt worse than when he lost his arm but not worse than when he realized his team was dead and he wasn’t.

             _His team._

_Pidge._

_Lance._

_Hunk._

_Would they die too if he died here? Would the Altean spare any of them? No, no, no. They were so young- too young. Do not kill them. Please._

             Just when Shiro felt the world darkening on him, the pain released itself from him just as quickly as it had first come. He could hear the sounds of screams of pains, and the smell of burning flesh, while he tried to gulp in as much air as he could. Stumbling to his feet, knees shaking, Shiro looked over to see Pidge standing over the fallen body of the Leader of the Alteans.

x.x.X.x.x

             Pidge knew their feelings about this mission was something that Shiro was keeping an eye on. Honestly, it was a big deal that Shiro had chosen _them_ to accompany him on this mission. Lance or Hunk could have easily taken their place, and would have had a lot more manpower than they had. Though, Shiro had told the team that it was Pidge who was going with him to capture the Leader of the bloody Altean race.

             The same creature that had taken Pidge’s father and brother away from them.

             Who had mutilated Shiro’s arm and took away his memory, leaving a scarred man behind who screamed in the darkness of the nights when everyone else was asleep.

             They knew that they were lucky to be a part of this mission and not sent back to the ship, where Commander Iverson had demanded that they stay. He was screaming something about _compromising the mission_ and _emotionally unstable_ , or something like that. Pidge tended to ignore people like Iverson. Loud, obnoxious and rude.

             Besides, Shiro didn’t seem to look like he cared too much, if anything by the tightness of his jaw. Of course he played the winning soldier, with that mega-watt smile that everyone adored, perfectly and simply nodded occasionally as Iverson screamed at them. In the end, Shiro had calmly stated that Pidge was the best communications pilot they had and he trusted _no one_ else but his team to have his back.

             His _new_ team, that is.

             They had come a long way since they first became a team. Pidge was still reeling after the _deaths_ of their father and brother. Lance was about an outburst away from being demoted to a cargo pilot forever. Hunk had never even set _foot_ in a ship. And Shiro had just returned after disappearing for a year, dealing with trauma and a missing limb.

             Quite an unusual team indeed.

             Of course, everything wasn’t perfect. Lance still snored and made shitty jokes _(but god forbid if anyone else made a pun)_ ; Pidge still spoke sentences that everyone, even Shiro, could only understand about 25% of; Hunk _still_ threw up in his ship; and Shiro still tried to carry the world on his shoulders.

             It wasn’t perfect but it was good enough for Pidge.

             Which was why, they were _livid_ when the Leader of the Altean army brought Shiro to his knees, writhing in clear agony. Pidge had seen a lot with Shiro, especially after returning from his failed mission, but they knew that it took a _shit ton_ to bring Shiro to his knees. Shiro wasn’t the time to easily cave into his pain, when his team was in danger or a mission was on the line.

             However, the longer that Pidge watched, horrified, the more they realized that Shiro could _die._ Another person could die at the hands of the enemy.

             Pidge’s eyes narrowed to slits and they snarled.

             _Not on my watch._

             Without even thinking, Pidge had launched their bayard across the room, watching as a long wire erupted from the end of the bayard, bringing the electric blade towards their enemy. Instantly, long, spikes erupted from the blade of the bayard, curved and painful if they sunk into flesh. They planted their feet firmly into the ground and whipped the wire once causing a loud crackling noise to erupt in the air before the blade had grasped their enemy in its teeth.

             Pidge yanked back on the bayard’s handle and tightened the wire, once more causing the air to crackle with electricity before sending a deadly number of volts spiraling towards the Leader of the Altean army.

             Momentarily stunned, the Leader dropped his weapon away from Shiro, who had immediately slumped to the ground exhausted. Quickly, before the Leader could retaliate, Pidge yanked hard on their bayard and a new pulse of electricity lunged at the captivated Leader, causing him to drop to his knees. From the corner of their eyes, Pidge could see Shiro shakily moving to his feet and they couldn’t believe that Shiro was already moving after having been tortured only moments before.

             However, in that moment, the Leader had grabbed hold of the wire of Pidge’s bayard despite the blade still sticking into his side. Before Pidge could activate another jolt of energy, the Leader had yanked on the wire and pulled Pidge along with it.

             “Pidge!” Shiro shouted, terrified as he watched his youngest team member being dragged towards the Altean. His mind raced as images of Pidge experiencing the same pain that he had just went through, sent Shiro into a panicked mode.

             As the Altean Leader reached for his staff, Shiro sprinted towards Pidge and snatched them up, yanking harshly to let go of the bayard in their hands. He narrowly avoided being struck by the staff as he turned himself and Pidge out of the way.

             “Pidge get out of here now!” Shiro commanded as he put himself in between the Altean Leader and Pidge. Pidge shouted in protest, furious that Shiro would try to do this on his own, but both of their eyes widened when the Leader grabbed a hold of the blade in his side and _yanked the entire thing out._ Blood dripped to the floor and Pidge swallowed at seeing bits of dark flesh stuck to the blade.

             “Pidge!”

             “Shiro, let’s go!” Pidge pulled harshly on Shiro’s arm when the Leader began to stalk towards them. Shiro felt his arm beginning to glow as he made a fist.

             “Shiro? Pidge? What’s going on down there?” Lance’s voice crackled through the silence of the room and Pidge almost laughed in relief.

             “Change of plans. Lance you need to get in here and get Pidge to their ship.” Shiro commanded before Pidge even had the chance to speak. Pidge’s eyes darkened at the commanded before yanking on Shiro’s arm when the Altean Leader swung his staff towards Shiro. They both missed being hit, but winced at the large dent in the ground as sparks flew.

             “No! Goddamnit Shiro, this is _not_ the time to play hero!” Pidge snarled. “Ignore him Lance, he’s being delusional.”

             “What the fuck, is going on?” Lance cried out through the speakers of his helmet. Shiro looked down at Pidge, with a look of such annoyance and anger that Pidge could only glare back at him. _Two could play at this game._

             “We’ve located the Leader of the Alteans.” Shiro said, dodging away from another swing of the staff towards him. This time, Pidge and he were separated as they both lunged in opposite directions. While Shiro readied himself for another attack, Pidge had lunged for their bayard. They ignored the blood and skin on the blade and retracted the blade back on the handle. From there, Shiro and Pidge both circled around the Leader.

             “You did?! Oh how wonderful.” Lance snorted into his headset.

             “Wait, you did?” Hunk chimed in, causing Lance to groan. For a moment, Shiro wondered where he had gone wrong with this team. _Don’t get him wrong; he loved his team, but sometimes…_

             “Yes we did. But he is much more powerful than we thought.” Shiro stated.

             “For _all_ of us.” Pidge interrupted, causing Shiro to curse under his breath in his native tongue. “Watch your fucking language Captain.”

             “Pidge.” Shiro warned.

             “Wait, if he’s more powerful how are you two still alive?” Lance asked suddenly and Pidge pursed their lips together. They could just imagine the exasperated look on Shiro’s face right in that moment. Pidge jumped when the staff extended itself and was coming down towards them. Shiro lunged at the back of the Leader when he attacked Pidge, only to be shoved back with the butt of the staff.

             “We won’t be much longer unless you give us some backup!” Pidge hissed into their comm device and Lance winced.

             “Sheesh, sheesh, alright. Hunk can handle the rest of these fighters. My ship’s locking on yours and Shiro’s signals. Back up in a few!” Lance yelled and Pidge almost smiled. Lance might be many things but if there was one thing, it was that he was a fighter. No matter what.                 He would come for them, even if he were surrounded by the enemy or die trying.

             “Lance! You need to get Pidge to safety. You won’t be strong enough for him.”

             “We’re not leaving you behind!” Pidge yelled and cried out when they were flung back into the wall behind them. Their bayard dropped to the floor and rolled away from them. The Altean Leader banged his staff against the ground, magic pulsing around him.

             “Pidge!”

             “What’s going on?!” Lance cried out.

             “You have no idea what you humans are up against.” The Altean Leader murmured softly, almost as if he were regretting his decision to kill Shiro and Pidge.

             “Is he talking to you guys? Is he literally talking to you; like some kind of a boss battle?” Lance asked, heart racing and Pidge snickered weakly.

             “Did he at least tell you his plan?” Hunk chimed in.

             Pidge coughed tiredly and glanced up at him, just as he had Shiro up by the throat. The staff in his hand pulsed to life with magic and Pidge’s eyes widened.

             “No! Shiro!”

             Just as the Altean Leader was about strike down Shiro, there was an enormous blast of energy that flew through the room. It was a bright light, causing Pidge to squeeze their eyes shut and look away, which hit the Leader directly. Shiro was dropped to the floor away from the blast of energy before it stopped as suddenly as it had started.

             When Pidge opened their eyes, it was to find the entire room in chaos and destruction. With broken walls and torn up floors. To their left, there was a giant gaping hole in the wall that lead to space (must have been why their masks were activated?) with a familiar blue ship hovering just outside the hole. To their right, there was a crumpled wall, with black ash and burns all across it and in the middle of it was the distinct silhouette of an Altean. One who had been disintegrated by the heat and force of the blast. On the floor, lay an unarmed staff, broken.

             Pidge and Shiro shared a heavy look.

x.x.V.x.x

The enemy has fallen.

_Alfor is dead._

x.x.V.x.x

             Celebrations were happening on every ship in their currently galaxy system. From Galras to humans, there wasn’t a single ship that wasn’t rejoicing with joy. The enemy had finally been defeated.

             The war had finally ended.

             Shiro thought that once the leader had been killed and all of the Altean ships had been taken over, a weight would have been lifted off his shoulders. He figured that with the signal of the end of the war, he would have felt lighter. Younger. Happier even.

             But the haunted image of the old Altean’s face was still imprinted fresh in Shiro’s mind. While everyone else was drinking, celebrating and shouting (typically with Galras on their own respective ships and Humans on their own. He couldn’t tell anyone why he wasn’t thriving with joy right now – maybe he didn’t want to look foolish by getting drunk in front of his team; maybe parties weren’t his thing; maybe he was just _tired._ But Shiro couldn’t put a finger on why he was so somber.

             He kept it to himself.

             Pidge was enjoying themselves, launching off into a debate about the theories of alternate realities to some older cadet who went by Slav. It was mildly entertaining to see both of them getting so heated about their theories and Shiro shook his head. He was glad that Pidge could finally have some peace after their father and brother’s death. He was happy that after so much pain and torment, Pidge could begin to heal and move on with the death of that murderer. It would take time and without bodies, Pidge would never fully be healed but at least they were free of the torment. And Shiro was simply glad that Pidge hadn’t been the one to kill Lance.

             Everyone had figured that Lance would be bragging about being the one to have killed the Altean Leader, but he remained quiet on the subject. He’d bragged with a smile too big and eyes too dull about how _his team_ had brought down the Altean regime, but he’d never directly spoken to anyone about the death of the Altean Leader. Shiro knew it wasn’t easy to kill another creature, whether they were the enemy or not, and his heart ached for the younger pilot. At least Lance had enough sense not to brag about the death, but Shiro was sure to keep an eye on the young man. Currently he was egging Hunk on into an arm wrestling match, having had a _bit_ too much to drink, but Shiro decided to let the kid have some fun today.

             After all, they had just won a war that had lasted for centuries.

             Hunk was probably the happiest of them all. He was laughing, smiling and talking to just about anyone. He’d even made his homemade cookies from Earth that warmed Shiro right to his toes. Hunk always knew how to make food in space that felt like _home._

             “Hey Shiro.” Hunk greeted him from where he was hiding near the balcony of the ship. “Not going to take up Lance’s offer for a dance off? I bet you’d be pretty good at that.”

             Shiro chuckled, swirling his drink around in hand. “Well, you don’t get voted best moves for nothing.” He winked at Hunk who grinned widely. There was a lot known about Takashi Shirogane, the legendary youngest pilot in Earth’s history and grade A student. Nothing bad could ever be said about the man and no one could ever find anything embarrassing about him, so learning any silly quirk about him was like finding a treasure.

             “Oh, come on then! I’m sick of hearing Lance tell everyone that his moves were gifts from the gods.” Hunk rolled his eyes. “You need to put him in his place.”

             “Ah, let him have a little fun. He’s earned it.” Shiro waved his hand while Hunk sighed dramatically.

             “If you keep doing that, he’s going to get an enormous ego – which you do _not_ want. I’m his best friend after all; it’s my duty to make sure he’s still likable at the end of the day.” Hunk informed his captain, causing Shiro to laugh. For a few moments, the two watched Lance on the dance floor with several other cadets while Pidge was trying to stand on the table in order to be taller than Slav, so their opinions would be louder.

             However, their moment of peace was interrupted when a group of Galra soldiers entered the main room. Shiros back straightened and his hands immediately went to his sides. Hunk nervously followed suit when he noticed that the Galra were heading for _them._ The Galra in front, had a muscular build with large fluffy ears _(Hunk, it’s probably a bad idea to ask to pet them)_ , with a yellow monocle over his right eye. His right arm was a sleek robotic arm made entirely of silver that ran up from his shoulder to his fingers, with spikes poking out throughout the arm. Their uniforms were entirely black and almost skin tight, with pads of armor placed over their chests and back and the Galra emblem etched into the chest plates.

             The Galra stopped only a few feet in front of Shiro and Hunk.

             Silence followed.

             “Takashi Shirogane? Hakon Aati?” The leader asked and Shiro crossed his arms over his chest.

             “Yes sir. Am I permitted to ask, who is asking?” Shiro said and Hunk swallowed.

             “I am Sendak of the Galra empire.” The Galra introduced smugly. “We are the first command under Commander Zarkon.” Shiro and Hunk couldn’t help but share a look with one another. Zarkon was the most well-known name in the Galra empire. He was the Commander of the Galra, who was the first to aid the humans against enslavement from the Alteans. No human had ever met Zarkon in person and many tales were woven of the Commander, just as many had about the Altean leader.

             “What is your business on this ship, Commander Sendak?” Shiro asked quickly, ignoring the snarl that Sendak sent him. _How dare a human speak to a commander in such a way._ However, he kept his cool and stood back.

             “Your presence is required. Along with Lance McClain and Katherine Holt.” Sendak informed. Shiro frowned at this and rubbed his chin. “It would appear that Commander Zarkon requests your company right this minute.”

             _Commander Zarkon wants you._

x.x.V.x.x

             “Okay, so like, what if he’s ugly?”

             “Lance.”

             “I’m just saying, if I were ugly and the Commander of an entire race in the middle of war, I probably wouldn’t want to show my face to my allies.” Lance continued with a pout. Beside him, Hunk gave him a gentle pat on the back for support. Lance appreciated the gesture.

             “That’s true. Image is everything.” Pidge nodded along with Lance, much to Shiro’s amusement. “Or maybe he’s some sort of human cryptid? What if he’s actually all these creatures from Earth that no one can confirm is real, and if he shows himself to a human, we. Would. Know.”

             “Whoa there. Let’s settle down.” Shiro placed a hand on Pidge’s shoulder, feeling them vibrate underneath him. At least Pidge was smiling.

             “I’m sure he just doesn’t have time to show himself to every ally. Besides Pidge, you’ve seen what Galra look like. I don’t think Zarkon is the Loch Ness Monster in disguise.” He chuckled at the dejected look on Pidge’s face before Pidge nodded.

             “Fine, maybe he’s not but Lance has a point.” Pidge pointed out.

             “Ha, suck on it.”

             “Lance.”

             “Why wouldn’t he want to show his face to _anyone?_ ” Pidge asked curiously as they were lead down a darkened hallway on one of the biggest ships they had ever seen. This ship could easily wipe out an entire fleet of Earth’s army – probably even wipe out Earth if it really wanted. The sheer power of the ship wasn’t just found in the size but also in the pulsing energy that thrummed throughout the ship.

             There was magic on this ship.

             _Dark or light?_

             “I don’t know Pidge.” Shiro shrugged. He was actually quite curious about that too, though he wasn’t about to resort to conspiracy theories and ugliness. He found it a bit odd that none of them had ever seen Zarkon in person or any of Zarkon’s family during the entirety of their alliance. At least there was nothing on record of any human having ever met Zarkon.

             He was an entity of his own. Unknown and hidden from the universe.

             “I’m sure he has his reasons.” Shiro muttered quietly, eyeing Sendak and the other Galra soldiers walking ahead of them. He didn’t quite trust any of them and the hairs on the back of his neck were standing up the entire time they were on this ship. Even more so than when they entered the Altean ship earlier.

             Sendak stopped just before two large doors with the Galra empire emblem etched into it. He put his hand over his heart, turned out and the other Galra followed in suit.

             “Reptisa.” With that, the two large doors opened themselves, leaving the humans in awe, revealing an open throne room with a wide and clear glass window to the stars outside the ship. Shiro blinked at the sight, marveling at how amazing the view must be to wake up to or fall asleep too. Soon enough, the awe dissolved when Sendak led the humans to the edge of the room were a throne sat atop of a large staircase. In the throne sat a _huge_ Galra, much taller and muscular than even Sendak, with curved scars down the sides of his face and deep purples eyes that stared right through Shiro and the others. Beside him a figure that was entirely cloaked with a hood drawn up, though much smaller than the Galra sitting in the chair, and with yellow eyes stood at the side of the throne.

             Sendak and the other Galra immediately dropped to their knee with hands over their chest, before Shiro eventually took a knee. Though his eyes never left the Galra sitting in the throne, he motioned for the others to follow in his lead. Confused, the others slowly knelt beside Shiro and the room was silent for a brief moment.

             “Welcome, Paladins of Earth.” The Galra in the chair spoke up, voice booming across the room loud and clear despite being so much farther from them. “Defenders of the Universe.” Lance looked up at this and glanced at the others, noting the look of surprise on each of their faces. He couldn’t help but think that name sounded pretty cool, didn’t it?

             He shivered once upon looking at _Zarkon_ and the hooded figure beside him. There was no doubt that this powerful presence was the commander of the Galra empire. No one else could release such an aura.

             “You may rise.” Zarkon boomed when he stood up from the throne. The figure behind him immediately moved behind the throne, hidden within the shadows and Shiro was the first to rise. Followed by Pidge, then Lance and finally Hunk. Lance barely noticed that Sendak and the others remained where they were in kneeling on the ground.

             “Your highness, it is our honor to meet you.” Lance bowed quickly with a smirk. Beside him, Pidge scrubbed their hand down their face and Shiro sighed heavily. Only Hunk nodded along with Lance. However, Zarkon looked unimpressed as he descended the stairs and for a moment, Lance feared that he had said the _wrong_ thing to the commander of the Galra empire. Zarkon continued to descend the stairs of his throne in silence while Lance seriously began to contemplate if his chances of survival were higher if he just threw himself out the window.

             _I mean, breaking the glass would probably hurt and I would be sore after being violently sucked into never ending space but I’d live. Maybe I could land on a nice, warm planet. Maybe Earth would appear._

             Lance was so lost in thought, he hardly noticed that Zarkon had fully descended the stairs and was standing right in front of him. Swallowing thickly, he could barely be looking into the dark piercing eyes of Zarkon, that looked to be as if they were glowing. He towered over Lance when he looked down at the human and his cape billowed behind him dramatically.

             “Commander Zarkon will due.” Zarkon simply said, voice void of any emotion.

             “Yes sir.” Lance managed to squeak before attempting to disappear behind Hunk. Uninterested, Zarkon eyed the other humans and passed by each one of them until he came to Shiro.

             Shiro stood tall and didn’t even flinch when Zarkon stopped to stare at him. In fact, Shiro never once broke eye contact with the commander. The two eyed each other in icy silent, with so much tension in the room that one could cut it with a knife. It was hard to explain where the tension had come from but it wasn’t leaving anytime soon.

             “Captain Shirogane, I presume?” Zarkon’s lips soon twisted back into something resembling a smile. Shiro refused to back down and he silently nodded. Zarakon’s grin remained before he began to walk away with arms stretched out wide.

             “I do believe that congratulations are in order then.” He barked with a laugh, startling Hunk and the younger pilots. Shiro swallowed thickly when Zarkon turned back around to look at them, stroking his chin. “After all, it’s not every day that a bunch of _humans_ kill the King of the Alteans: Alfor.”

             At the mention of the Altean leader’s name, everyone’s blood turned to ice. The temperature in the room dropped significantly and the tension only grew. Pidge clenched their hands together while Lance stared pointedly at his knee-high boots.

             “It was your team who killed Alfor, wasn’t it?” Zarkon sneered and Shiro blinked.

             “Yes sir. We defeated the enemy.” Shiro answered slowly when Zarkon began heading towards Lance again. He didn’t like the way that Zarkon was eyeing Lance. Almost like a predator who was stalking his prey.

             A scared, defenseless prey.

             “And you were the human who single handedly annihilated the king?” Zarkon almost looked disappointed as he looked Lance up and down. Lance swallowed, unable to answer. “I heard that you burned him until his flesh melted off the bone. Until there was nothing left but ash.”

             “It was a team effort sir.” Shiro spoke up when Lance started to look a little green by Zarkon’s words. Zarkon turned his attention over to Shiro, slowly and eventually left Lance alone. Gratefully, Lance grinned in Shiro’s direction. Shiro stared Zarkon straight in the eye when he smiled once more. “Without all of us, Alfor would continue to rule.”

             Zarkon’s grin reappeared. “Yes. I suppose that’s true. It is why I picked you as a team, after all.”

             Pidge gaped. “ _You’re_ the one who formed our team?”

             “Of course. I had input from your other…human commanders. But I saw each of your potential alone. Then together, I knew you would be an unstoppable force. You were the only ones I could trust in my Special Operations unit.” Zarkon explained and Shiro shifted on his feet.

             He crossed his arms over the chest plate and stretched one leg out. “We’re honored to have served Earth and the Galra well. I’m pleased that this war has finally ended.” Beside him, he could feel the others beaming with pride.

             _They could finally go home._

             “Yes. You’re right. This war _is_ almost over.” Pidge frowned at this statement and one look from their teams meant that everyone else was thinking the same thing. _It wasn’t over?_

             “Almost, sir?” Shiro dared to ask and Zarkon’s smile dropped entirely.

             “Alfor had a _daughter.”_ And just like that it felt as if a bomb had been dropped on the four humans. Hunk and Lance shared a nervously look while Pidge grit their teeth together. This wasn’t the news that they were hoping to hear. “Her name is Allura and she now is the Queen of the Altean race. With her still alive, any Altean that had fled will rally up behind her and our enemy can still rise. As long as the King’s bloodline lives, the Altean race will continue to hunt and enslave everyone in the universe. She must be killed.”

             Hunk felt his stomach drop.

             “Um, how old is she? Ah, Commander Zarkon?” He asked, shying away from those piercing purple eyes when they looked to him.

             “She is not a child, if that it was you are so worried about, Yellow Paladin of Earth.” Hunk frowned in confusion at the nickname given to him by Zarkon. “She is old enough to fight, to fly and to lead her people.”

             “Where is the princess now?” Shiro spoke up quietly, ignoring the clenching feeling in his gut. He didn’t like what Zarkon was saying, but for once he just wanted this war to end for good. He wanted to go home.

             “We have been unable to track her location. It seems that she was able to escape with a ship and is not within our system.” Zarkon waved Shiro off and then clasped his hands behind his back. “But do not worry about that for now. We will find her. That is not why I have called you here today.” His smiled began to form.

             “As promised, your team is to be rewarded for your bravery and courage when it came to defeating the Alteans.” Zarkon’s grin looked too wide to be comfortable and his eyes left a haunting impression on Shiro. He would have guessed that most leaders, under the amount of pressure that Zarkon was under, might have all looked a bit scarier than expected. It didn’t stop his stomach from churning at sight of Zarkon though.

             “A reward? Like a vaction?” Lance spoke up before Shiro could answer the Galran leader. Apparently Lance had forgotten all about his fear of the Galra commander, as his excitement bubbled to the surface. The idea of being rewarded didn’t sound so bad. _After all, they were heroes._ “Oh my god, do we get a vacation? Are we allowed to go _anywhere?!_ I hope there’s a planet with beaches and hot babes in the sand.”

             “No. Not quite.” Zarkon said amusedly, before waving his hand. This was the first time that Shiro had seen Zarkon look anything other than solemn, bored or wearing a smirk. “Haggar, bring it forward.”

             Shiro watched as the hooded figure who stood at Zarkon’s side, came from behind a door, with an unknown figure trailing behind her. As the figure got closer and closer to Shiro and his team, Shiro could make out a face. The (man?) wore a simple tunic and pants with no shoes; his right arm was completely covered in a long black glove that went from his fingers to his shoulders, and his right foot was encased in what looked like a metallic leg. The expression on his face sent shivers down Shiro’s spine, as it was so expressionless. So lifeless.

             Shiro looked at his own robotic arm.

             Pidge was the first to speak up. “What is this? Our reward is some stranger?”

             “No.” Zarkon boomed. “This is not a human, but a _droid._ And it is your gift.”

             “A droid?” Shiro asked cautiously.

             “Yes. The first of the Galra kind. A droid meant to serve you to whatever needs and desires you so wish. He is to serve your every command and come at your beck and call.”

             “You mean, a slave?”

             Zarkon’s grin twisted into a sickening sneer. “No. It isn’t human, Black Paladin of Earth. This is a Droid. K31T4, and now it is yours to command.”

             Silence echoed through the throne room. The man – no, K31T4 stared blankly ahead at Shiro and the others. Zarkon had begun to ascend back up to his throne, hiding the leering grin on his face. Shiro was deeply disturbed as he looked at K31T4. It looked so _lifelike_.

             “He – he doesn’t look like a droid?” Hunk finally spoke up when Zarkon took a seat on his throne.

             “That is because we made it look as human as possible. As so to not frighten you with an entirely machined droid.” Zarkon explained. Hunk swallowed when the droid’s purple eyes locked onto him. “We tried to replicate a human figure, thinking that you would be most comfortable with something that looked familiar. But do not worry, this is a simple machine our sorceress created to serve your every command.”

             “A beach vacation would have been better than a mullet head.” Lance muttered under his breath, wincing when Shiro elbowed him. At this, Zarkon’s grin began to slip from his face and his eyes darkened.

             “Do you not like the gift my people have given you?” Shiro could hear the underlying threat in his voice and he gulped.

             “No sir. We just aren’t…used to gifts.” Shiro said slowly. “We appreciate all that you have done for us and humankind in this war.” Apparently, this was the right thing to say because Zarkon had nodded and leaned back in his throne. Shiro finally released a breath that he hadn’t realized he had been holding.

             “But of course. Any ally of the Galra deserves only the finest of gifts from us.” Zarkon gripped the edges of his throne and gestured to K31T4. “It is yours now. Think of this as a trial run. The Galra plan to launch an entire line of humanoid and Galra droids to service both humans and Galra alike. Think of how many lives we can save by sending in a droid to do suicide missions or dangerous work.”

             Shiro had to admit: that did sound nice. “And if the droid dies?”

             “It is not a human, Black Paladin.” Zarkon laughed darkly. “Its purpose is to serve until it is no longer needed or _can’t.”_

             “What do we do with h – it?” Lance finally asked and Zarkon chuckled.

             “Do whatever you want with it. It is meant to service your _every_ need whatever it may be. It will not require fuel or any human necessities. All I ask is that you report back to me in due time to tell us how the droid is fairing. This specific unit – K31T4-0X – has had some glitches in the past If you notice any glitches or behavioral issues, do not hesitate to bring it back to us for repairs.” Zarkon explained, grin never leaving his face.

             “Haggar has personally attended to K31T4 and _removed_ any glitches but if you find any, bring him back.” Shiro’s heart hammered when Zarkon’s tone turned several pitches lower and his eyes looked as if they were glowing brighter. He refused to back down from the commander’s stare and eventually forced himself to look at the blank face of the droid.

             Whatever they based the droid on, it was a young face. Even younger than Shiro and Hunk. He – It looked like an Asian descendent with blues eyes that almost looked purple when reflected in the light. His – Its hair was dark black and trailing just past his neck. A hint of metallic skin peeked out from under the neck of the tunic through a cut in the skin. All the while, the droid never once moved or changed his – its expression.

             No one dared to move.

             This amused the commander.

             “He will not bite. Do not fear. If you give him a command, he will recognize your voice and then he is yours.” Still no one made to move or speak after Zarkon’s comment. Eventually, Shiro coughed to try to speed things up so they could leave.

             “Um, K31T4 – ”

             Upon hearing this, the droid’s eyes looked brighter than ever and he turned his entire body (though still rigid) towards Shiro.

             “I am K31T4. My duty is to protect the Paladins of Earth.” Even his voice sounded emotionless, despite being young. Shiro blinked and Hunk practically shoved himself behind Lance to hide out of fear. Pidge’s jaw dropped and their glasses slowly slid down the bridge of their nose.

             “Um, hi K31T4.” Shiro coughed when the droid didn’t even so much as blink when he looked at Shiro. He ignored Zarkon’s laughter and took a breath. “My name is –”

             “You are Takashi Shirogane. Aged 23 in human years and from the planet called Earth. You were born on an Earth ship though, as no human has been on Earth since the Altean invasion over 100 years ago. You were ranked number 1 in your class at the Garrison and scored a perfect 100 on your exit examination to become the youngest pilot in human history to fly a ship for humankind. Your blood type is O positive. You’re six-foot four inches. Your parents’ names are –”

             “That’s enough!” Shiro suddenly barked and the droid instantly silenced itself and lowered its head. Shiro was honestly more surprised and horrified to hear this unknown droid spouting _everything_ about Shiro. They hadn’t even met until five minutes ago.

             Behind him, Pidge’s eyes were bright and their jaw was practically on the ground.

             “How did he know all that?” Lance squeaked.

             Zarkon laughed. “Our droids are made to have a great deal of knowledge. Otherwise they are worthless and are destroyed to be remade even better than before.” Lance didn’t know why he winced when Zarkon said this but he decided to ignore it and looked at the droid curiously.

             _How could something so empty, look so human?_ The droid almost looked like he was hunched in on himself.

             “Um, do you know who I am, K31T4?” Lance asked curiously. Shiro pinched the bridge of his nose when his team stepped closer to the unknown droid and he snuck a glance at Zarkon. Who was watching _all_ of them.

             The droid slowly looked up, face devoid of any emotion. “You are Lance McClain. Aged 21. Fighter pilot for the Earth’s Galactic Defense System. Brother of 6.” Immediately, Lance cheered in shock and Hunk and Pidge stepped closer to the droid.

             “K31T4, who was my brother and my father?” Pidge asked suspiciously. The droid turned to look directly at Pidge with blank eyes before speaking.

             “Your father was Commander Samuel Holt, aged 48. Your brother was Cadet Matthew Holt, aged 20. Both were on a mission with Captain Takashi Shirogane to Kerberos in a mission to spy on enemy lines. An Altean ship spotted the three humans and –”

             “K31T4, that’s enough.” Shiro said softly, when he saw the tears building up in Pidge’s eyes. The droid closed his mouth quickly and straightened his back to an impressive 90 degree angle. The droid stared ahead blankly, much to Shiro’s discomfort before Zarkon finally spoke up.

             “Does my gift please you humans?”

             He was obviously looking for only one answer. Shiro didn’t know what Zarkon was capable of, but no matter how uncomfortable he made them, Zarkon was their ally. Without Zarkon the Alteans would have slaughtered every human in the galaxy. They owed them their eternal gratitude and debt.

             Maybe Galra customs were just a little different from Earth’s.

             “Yes sir. We are very grateful to receive K31T4.” Shiro bowed and the others did the same. Except for the droid, but he wasn’t human.

             From his throne, Zarkon grinned. “Excellent. Use it as you want. It is yours now, but I trust you to come should any _glitches_ arise.”

             “Of course, sir.” Shiro nodded once before he and the others stood up. They stared at Zarkon once more until they were dismissed. Shiro tried to leave as quick as possible, and the others seemed to be thinking the same thing. He’d almost forgotten entirely about K31T4 until the droid followed them silently onto their ship.

             Shiro swallowed thickly, unable to look away from those glazed, blank eyes until Lance said that they were ready for takeoff. _Well, I can worry about it later._

x.x.V.x.x

Who are you?

_We are your new masters._

I serve my masters, until death.

x.x.V.x.x

             The staring was almost as awful as the silence.

             Everyone was uncomfortable with K31T4. But how do you tell a robotic droid to stop staring and blink every once and awhile and to maybe make noise? The droid hadn’t moved from its spot since arriving on the ship, not even during takeoff, which Pidge was impressed that the droid didn’t even budge.

             “So…” Lance trailed off, gripping the controls tightly. He whistled when no one else answered, refusing to look at the elephant in the room. “That was fucking weird, huh?” _Lance always had a way with words. Ever the charmer._

             “Yeah. Zarkon, he really is scary. Like I never want to be on his bad side. Ever. I mean, honestly I could have gone my entire life without meeting him and I would have been quite happy. Seriously.” Hunk babbled nervously from his seat by the engine. Hunk side-eyed the droid who remained unmoving. “And who gives this as a gift?” He whispered and covered his mouth with his hand, as if worried that K31T4 would hear him.

             “Dude, why are you whispering? It’s not like you’ll hurt the thing’s feelings.” Lance stated loudly and Hunk flinched. He looked over at the droid to see it hadn’t even reacted to Lance’s outburst. But still.

             “Knock it off Lance, you don’t know that.”

             “Zarkon said it’s not human.” Pidge piped up. “Which means he can’t have feelings. You could probably call him a Space Cow and he wouldn’t even react.”

             “Hey, K31T4, are you a space cow?” Lance bit his lip to keep from laughing out loud, ignoring Hunk’s nervous apologies and Pidge’s voice of amusement. He turned around in his seat, to look back at the droid and almost jerked in surprise. The droid had cocked his head, much like a confused animal would, though its expression remained mainly empty.

             “I am not a “Space Cow.” There is no such creature known as a “Space Cow.” I am a modified droid built by Haggar to service the Paladins of Earth.” The droid droned on and Lance finally snickered once more.

             “Is he serious? Oh my god, he is a _riot!”_

             “A riot would be dangerous when flying a spacecraft. It would be advised to refrain from riots while flying. An act enabled in 1975 was creating to forbid any more than 10 people on a type 1 craft such as this, due to problems with weight and a flux in oxygen levels.” The droid recited, causing Lance to burst into laughter again while Hunk panicked. Pidge’s glasses glistened in the light and they grinned.

             “I didn’t even know that. This guy is awesome.”

             “Guys, knock it off. This isn’t a person. It’s a droid.” Shiro finally sighed from his seat. He listened as the others huffed and pouted before smiling softly. “Besides, if he was a human I would feel sorry for him, having to deal with Lance can be hard enough.”

             “Shiro!”

             “What is a Shiro?”

             Everyone froze at the unexpected question that arises from the droid. They all twisted in their seat to stare at the droid who was staring blankly at Shiro. It was almost as if it hadn’t spoken at all, but no one else was in the ship.

             “Um, K31T4, did you just speak?” Shiro asked, scratching at the scar on his nose. He could feel the gun holster on his thigh and nervously itched his fingers towards it. The droid finally blinked.

             “I apologize Paladin Shirogane. I am programed not to speak unless spoken to. My system will rewire to fix itself.” The droid stated blandly and Shiro moved his hand away from the gun. He frowned.

             “It’s okay if you have a question K31T4. Could you please repeat it?” Shiro asked and the droid blinked once more.

             “Even polite to the robot.” Lance mumble.

             “He’s not a robot. He’s a droid.” Hunk reminded Lance who scowled.

             “I do not know what a “Shiro” is. It is not programed within my database and I cannot properly service the Paladins of Earth if my database is missing information.” The droid recited as if reading off a list.

             “Oh, well, it’s like a nickname?” Shiro explained. Still the droid did not even move. “Um, well it’s like another name. Humans give nicknames to people they like all the time. Sometimes their name is long or hard to pronounce like mine, or they like cute versions of their name. But it’s just what people call me. Not a lot of people call me Takashi Shirogane.” At this the droid nodded slowly.

             “Then, does “Pidge” refer to Miss Paladin Katherine?” The droid droned quietly. Pidge rolled their eyes and huffed.

             “Drop the miss and never call me Katherine. Only Pidge.” Pidge huffed with a growl.

             “Understood Paladin Pidge.” Pidge blinked in surprise at the answer and blushed when they realized that they had just commanded K31T4. It felt weird to have order around another being, even if this one wasn’t exactly considered human…or alive…

             _But he looked so lifelike._

             “Um, thanks K31T4.” Pidge scratched at the back of their head when Shiro watched them curiously. The droid in the center of the ship merely stared blankly, facial muscles not even twitching. It was a little unnerving. And that blasted awkwardness was back.

             “You know, I think K31T4 is such a mouth full and it’s so boring.”  Lance finally sighed dramatically from his seat at the control panel. Beside him, Pidge and Hunk nodded in agreement while Shiro sighed. “I mean, we can’t honestly be expected to call him K31T4 forever? Bo-ring. No thank you. I don’t think so.”

             “Isn’t that _his_ name though?” Hunk asked quietly. The droid, K31T4 made no notice of comprehending their conversation. He didn’t even look in their direction at the mention of his name.

             “It’s not and that is exactly the problem here.” Lance argued with a grin. Shiro resisted any sudden urge to roll his eyes, reminding himself that they were only a few hours from base.

             “Lance, that is what we call _him._ He responds to that; we can’t be making up names for him.” Shiro said while Lance slumped in his seat. However, he wouldn’t be so easily defeated just yet, not even by his captain.

             “Not unless we command him to go by that name. C’mon, don’t you think the poor guy deserves a real name?”

             “Technically, it’s not even a guy.” Pidge interjected and Lance glared at the other. Pidge’s “helpful” comments were always appreciated in any conversation.

             “Don’t be mean to the newbie.” Lance mocked his offense before unbuckling himself from his seat. Causally he strolled over to the droid, who finally looked blankly at him. Unnerved, Lance only hesitated for a second before throwing his arm around the stiff droid. He attempted to loosen K31T4 up and grinned.

             “I think we should call him Star-boy.” Lance cackled while Hunk protested loudly.

             “No way, am I calling him _Star-boy._ What about Sun? Or Alkane?” Hunk added helpfully. “You could even name him Coco?”

             “Hunk, I love you, but those are terrible names.” Lance said quickly and Hunk slouched in defeat.

             “I agree.” Pidge nodded, fixing their glasses. Even Shiro had to admit, the poor droid didn’t deserve that name. “Names like Skookum or Exmoor would be better. What about Kaijin?”

             “Pidge, I swear to god, if you try to name him after a made-up cryptid I will send your ass into space so fast –” Lance interrupted quickly, dragging the droid with him. Pidge squawked, clearly offended by their teammate’s claim and jumped from their own seat.

             “How dare you even suggest they are made up! There is scientific evidence that proves their reality on Earth.” Pidge cried while Lance pulled the droid in between both of them. “K31T4, tell _Lance_ all about the Skookum.”

             “The Skookum is an alternative name for what is known as “Big Foot” in the North American region on Earth.”

             “K31T4, if you finish that statement I will send both your asses into space.”

             “Sending a human’s gluteus maximus into the orbit of space is the most effective method.” The droid answered seriously and Lance almost fell over with laughter. He was clutching his side desperately and laughing as hard as he could. Even Pidge and Hunk couldn’t stop the smile from forming on their faces. The droid had just sounded so sincere to Lance.

             “Thanks for that. Just what I needed.” Lance wiped an imaginary tear from his eyes.

             “What about Keith?” Everyone finally stopped laughing (everyone except K31T4, who wasn’t laughing in the first place) to look over at Shiro. His eyes were still locked on the window in front of him but there was a soft smile on his face. The others shared a quick look with one another, mulling the name over in their heads.

             “Hm, a stupid name for a stupid droid. Keith.” Lance said out loud, earning a hard smack from Hunk. “Ouch. Sheesh, sorry. Fine, fine. Keith is a good name.” He rubbed his arm sadly.

             Hunk smiled. “I agree. I like it. Keith.”

             “Me too. Keith.” Pidge nodded and Shiro’s grin only grew.

             “Then it’s settled. Welcome aboard the Earth’s Galactic Defense System Keith.” Shiro looked over his shoulder to smile at the droid who finally blinked at Shiro. There was a split second where Shiro could have sworn he saw some sort of an _emotion_ pass over the droid’s face – _Keith’s_ face. There was a flicker of surprise and his purple eyes had brightened before dulling back down. If Shiro didn’t have to look back ahead in front of their ship, he would have stared at Keith even longer.

             To try and get a glimpse of it again.

             However, they were all surprised when Keith cocked his head and again blinked.

             “What is Keith?” He asked.

             “Oh boy, this is going to be great.” Lance smirked, swinging his arm over K31T4’s – er, Keith’s shoulder. Keith blinked over at Lance. “ _You_ are Keith.”

             “I am K31T4.” Keith insisted and Lance rolled his eyes.

             “Not anymore. From now on, you are Keith. Just like I am Lance. That’s Pidge. He’s Hunk and our Captain is Shiro.” Lance stated as he pointed to everyone and they waved back. Keith still stared at everyone and a tiny frown came over his face. It nearly caused Lance to stumble back but the Blue Pilot managed to keep his cool.

             “I am…Keith?”

             “Yes! You’re Keith.” Hunk said happily and beamed at Keith who merely frowned at him. However, Keith nodded stiffly, as if understanding an order. As everyone headed back to their station, no one could miss the way that Keith had silently mouthed his name to himself. As if trying it out.              

             _Keith._


	2. Earth

x.x.V.x.x

I am Keith.

It’s so cold where I am. Can you hear me?

x.x.V.x.x

             “What are we supposed to do with him?”

             “What have you done?”

             “Well, um, what we usually do on the ship? But he just stood around staring. Actually, it was a bit creepy.” Hunk replied with a small shudder. Behind him, Pidge and Lance nodded in agreement. Shiro hung back a bit further with _Keith_ standing beside him. As usual, the droid was stone silent and stiff as a board where he stood. Every now and again the light reflected off the metallic arm and leg, causing Shiro to look over and look back at his arm. He wondered why the Galra had decided to not make synthetic skin over those parts of the droid, though Keith was simply a prototype model.

             Still. Why?

             Their commanding officer, an older and grumpy man named Iverson was staring between Hunk and Keith with narrowed eyes. It was obvious that the man was impressed by the droid and probably annoyed that Shiro and his team had gotten the first model. In fact, many other humans were more impressed by Keith and how he looked rather than be uncomfortable around him as Shiro was.

             “Then take it to your ship. Return to Earth.” Iverson replied with a growl. “Otherwise give it to us, I’m sure we can make plenty good use for it.” Hunk swallowed at the underlying tone in Iverson’s voice. Nervously, he glanced at the stoic Keith before nodding quickly. For some reason, he didn’t feel too comfortable leaving Keith with these strangers – even if they had been fighting alongside them all their lives now.

             However, his jaw dropped to the floor and the others sputtered around him.

             “Wait, did you say _Earth?”_ Hunk asked quietly. Beside him, Lance and Pidge had shoved themselves against him. Lance was gripping his arm as tight as he could and Pidge’s eyes were practically glistening. Even Shiro had moved upright and perked at mention of their home planet, causing Keith to blink and look at Iverson.

             “Yes. Earth. You know, that big blue planet where humans came from?” Iverson rolled his eyes. Shiro ignored the comment and pushed past his team. Keith remained behind.

             “Sir, no one has inhabited Earth in over 200 years. How do you even know if it is habitable?” Shiro demanded with a frown. He could not deny that his heart had yearned to go to the planet where his ancestors had once been. To set foot on the soil; feel the air against his skin and the taste of the water on his tongue. Shiro didn’t know a single human alive still that has set foot on Earth. The last of humans who had once lived on war, even during the beginnings of the war against Altea were long dead. Earth had not been destroyed but a last-minute barrier by the last of humans on Earth had protected the planet from any more harm, and the Galra had made a home for humans on large ships.

             “Plus, how are we supposed to break the barrier? Did anyone leave instructions on how to fix the barrier?” Pidge asked with a frown. They hadn’t ever been in Earth’s orbit, neither had anyone in their family. Pidge had read of pilots who had flown to Earth and were able to see it from just outside of its barrier but no one had been able to drop the barrier.

             “And is it even safe? Like the war just ended, should we really be rushing back to Earth? What if there are Alteans hiding?” Hunk piped up while rubbing his hands together.

             “It is perfectly safe. We’ve had pilots scouting the orbit of Earth for several decades now. As the…saviors of humanity, we believe that you should have first choice to arrival on Earth.” Iverson explained stiffly and Shiro’s eyes narrowed again. Lance and Pidge had simply whooped in joy while Hunk let out a relieved breath. However, their joy was only short-lived.

             “You are lying.”

             Lance’s entire body froze when _Keith_ spoke up suddenly. No one had asked the droid anything or directly called him to speak, but still the droid had spoken up. And worse of all, he had called Captain Iverson a liar. _They were dead._

             “Keith…”

             “Captain Iverson of the Ares III, you are lying to Paladin Shiro, Paladin Lance, Paladin Pidge and Paladin Hunk.” Keith said in the same monotone that he always had, but this time he was looking directly at Iverson. He ignored Lance’s angry hiss to shut up and Pidge’s frown. Iverson’s right eye twitched and his clenched his jaw.

             “Captain Shirogane, you better keep this droid on a muzzle. Speaking without permission is unacceptable.” Iverson started.

             Keith began to walk towards Iverson, back straight and head high while the others cowered away from him. Shiro swallowed thickly but couldn’t find himself to stop Keith.

             “You are lying to them. You are misleading information to them, in order to gain a favorable emotion from them, so that they may go into this mission without any hesitation.” Keith continued blankly. By now, Iverson had taken one small step away from the droid.

             “Captain Shirogane! Control your _pet!”_

             “Captain Iverson, you will cease your lies with the Paladins of Earth.” Keith suddenly commanded, eyes glowing for a second. Lance almost choked when he noticed Keith’s hand beginning to glow. However, unlike the purple energy that charged Shiro’s prosthetic arm, Keith’s arm was beginning to glow bright red with crackling energy.

             “Captain Shirogane!”

             “Keith!”

             “I am Keith. I am sworn to protect the Paladins of Earth with my entire being. I will not let any harm come to them.” Keith’s eyes were glowing by now as his arm rose. Lance noticed that his fingers were much sharper than any humans, almost like claws and his arm hummed.

             “Keith, no, stop it! Stop right now!” Lance suddenly cried out and threw himself in between Iverson and Keith. The droid froze, quicker than any person could and drew his arm back. His eyes were red, not their dark purple, and Lance was almost afraid. Almost.

             “Paladin Lance, please remove yourself from my trajectory. I cannot hurt you. I can only hurt those who wish harm to the Paladins of Earth.” Keith said, still in his usual monotone. Lance swallowed and looked straight into Keith’s glowing red eyes.

             “No Keith. You cannot kill him. I order you to stand down now.” Lance said, voice shaking and the others held their breath when Keith remained silent.

             Eventually, Keith lowered his arm and his eyes returned to their normal color. He took a step back, giving Lance the space to breathe once more. _That could have been so bad._

             “What is the meaning of this?!”

             “Oh, fuck you. Sheesh, you’re lucky I didn’t let him kill you.” Lance rolled his eyes, going from relieved to furious in less than two seconds. He spun around to face Iverson who had returned to his usually furious look and full height. _Of course he would resort back to intimidation._ Iverson’s face was even more red than usual and Lance had a moment of satisfaction at having infuriated the man even further. Sometimes he tried to see how far he could push the Captain before he finally exploded.

             _Wouldn’t that be nice? Then we wouldn’t have to deal with his grumpy ass every day – oh this isn’t good. Now he has me._ Lance yelped when Iverson grabbed a hold of his shirt and yanked the younger pilot off his feet. He heard the others yelling at Iverson who had pressed his face right up to Lance’s face, with a deep scowl. Lance winced at the warm breath on his face.

             “Need I remind you of who is your superior officer boy? And that the only reason you were made a fighter pilot was because the Galra wanted to use you.” He hissed and Lance’s heart skipped a beat.

             Although, before Iverson could say anymore, a hand had wrapped around his own throat and he too was lifted off the ground. Immediately Lance was dropped to the ground, where he could see that it was Keith who had his hand around Iverson’s neck. He easily held the much larger man up by the throat and suspended him in the air, while Iverson clawed at the glowing red arm. Lance felt Pidge and Hunk help him to his feet while Shiro maneuvered beside Keith. Iverson looked to Shiro, obviously wanting him to put a stop to this display.

             “You will not bring harm to _any_ of the Paladins of Earth. Or I will kill you.” Keith hissed darkly, for the first time sounding anything other than a prerecorded, monotone robot. Lance and the others could only see Keith’s back but Shiro could clearly see the droid’s face and he was stunned.

             Keith was _angry._

             “Why would you be lying? What does Keith mean?” Shiro asked, instead of commanding Keith to drop Iverson. Iverson sputtered and kicked out at Keith, but Keith was quick to slam Iverson back against the wall of the ship. Iverson’s breath left his body and Keith tightened his grip.

             “Why does Keith think you are lying?” Iverson hacked but remained silent and Keith’s eyes darkened. A spark of energy cackled along his arm and Iverson’s eyes widened. But still he wouldn’t speak.

             “Captain Iverson wants the Paladins of Earth to return to Earth in order to ensure that it is safe. No human has orbited Earth in the 200 years that it has been unoccupied. They have not been scouting the planet as Captain Iverson has claimed.” Keith finally stated. Shiro looked over at the droid with eyes wide and heart hammering. “He planned to send you on a suicide mission to ensure Earth’s safety for other humans and to take down the barrier.”

             Shiro’s heart was rapidly beating in his chest as he managed to take a small glance back at his teammates, to see their surprised faces. Quickly Shiro looked back to Iverson, who was still struggled to break free from Keith’s grip.

             “Sir, is that true?” Shiro asked.

             “Captain Shirogane!”

             _“Is it true?”_ Shiro barked quickly, causing Keith to tighten his grip even more. Iverson’s eyes almost bugged out of his head. “Is what Keith saying, true?”

             “Captain Shirogane!” Iverson repeated.

             “Captain Iverson, is it true!?”

             “Yes!” Iverson finally admitted, turning an alarming shade of purple and Shiro felt his blood run cold. Instantly, he close off his entire face and stood back from Iverson. For a split second Lance, Hunk and Pidge feared that their leader would simply let Keith strangle Iverson (even if he deserved it). However, Shiro waved his hand.

             “Release him Keith.” Keith hesitated, glaring at Iverson’s purple face before releasing his grip on the Captain. Iverson dropped to the floor like a sack of potatoes, clutching his neck and taking in harsh breaths. He coughed and gagged as he struggled to breath in the silence of the room. Eventually when he could breathe again, he looked up to stare at Shiro. Shiro glared down at Iverson, standing in front of the droid.

             “That droid will be destroyed for its incompetence.”

             “No. You lied to us.” Shiro stated coldly and Iverson swallowed. Shiro stared down at Iverson with arms crossed over his chest. “You were going to send my team to _die_ and you would have lied to us until we were dead.”

             “You are the only ones capable of this mission.”

             “And why don’t you go yourself?” Pidge demanded, yanking their arm from Lance to stomp over beside Shiro. Hunk and Lance joined and soon enough Iverson was looking at all four pilot.

             “As the Special Operations unit, it is your _sworn_ duty to protect humans.”

             “Not for an officer who _lies_ to us. We would all die, we all almost did to _end_ this war but you lied to us.” Shiro growled and Iverson almost shrunk back. However, his pride would not let him to cower before these miserable young pilots.

             “You have that droid!” Iverson hissed and Lance rolled his eyes.

             “What does Keith have to do with this?”

             “That droid could be our only hope in dismantling the barrier around Earth.” Iverson finally admitted and lowered his eyes when the others continued to glare at him. “It was made for intelligence and missions. That droid would be the only thing here that would have any knowledge of dismantling that barrier and it could detect whether Earth was safe and habitable again. This is what these droids were made for. To protect humanity so that we can return _home.”_

             Silence etched on.

             Iverson believed that this might be it. These pilots might actually kill him, without any witnesses.

             “Keith?”

             “He is telling the truth.” Keith confirmed. Iverson was the only one to see the glare sent his way from Keith. He was stunned, having thought that droids were made to be emotionless robots, doing whatever was commanded of them. “For now.”                  

             “Shiro?” Lance finally asked with a heavy sigh. Shiro turned his gaze from Iverson and his expression softened when he looked at his team (so, so very young). “You’re the captain here. What should we do?”

             “What does everyone want to do?” Shiro sighed and pinched the bridge of his scarred nose. “We are a team. We make decisions _together.”_

             Another silence filled the room.

             Iverson almost stood up to leave with whatever dignity he had left.

             “I’ve always wanted to see Earth.” Lance finally shrugged with a sigh. “Could be a nice last thing to see, you know? I’d be a hero and girls everywhere would know my name.” He chuckled, earning a weak smile from Shiro.

             “Maybe Earth has better spices than we have on our ships. I’ve always wanted to smell one.” Hunk smiled nervously before nodding his head.

             “Matt and Dad would have wanted us to find Earth. For mom.” Pidge admitted softly, when Shiro laid his hand on their shoulder. Pidge smiled weakly at Shiro and the others before everyone turned their attention to Keith, who was still staring at Iverson on the floor.

             “Keith?” Shiro cleared his throat, wincing when the droid turned to look at him as fast as he could. He blinked, face returning to its resting blank look.

             “Yes?”

             “What do you want to do?” Shiro asked softly and Keith blinked again.

             “I am to follow the Paladins of Earth. I will go with you.” Keith stated.

             Shiro sighed. “But do you _want_ to go?”

             “I am to follow you. I will come.” Keith insisted again. The others also sighed in frustration but dropped the conversation and left the hurt Captain on the floor. Lance threw an arm around Keith, dragging the droid away and babbling about the best tasting chicken alfredo he would ever had, since Hunk was making it. Shrio smiled at his team once more before glaring at Iverson.

             “We leave tomorrow. We will let _someone else_ know of the success of our mission. If no one hears from us, we’re dead.” Then Shiro walked out of the room, leaving Iverson alone with his thoughts.

x.x.V.x.x

I will protect you until I no longer can.

_Please don’t die for me._

I must follow orders.

x.x.V.x.x

             Shiro didn’t exactly know why or how they were in their current situation, but they were and there wasn’t really anything he could do about it now. The situation being that they had somehow let the _droid_ fly a ship by himself.

             Without any human co-piloting with him.

             At the moment, Keith was in control of the Black ship, where everyone was located inside as they began to head out on their journey to Earth. Lance had somehow managed to convince Keith to sit down, _relax_ , and try a hand at flying. Of course, their flight path was fairly easy – a child could probably fly it without too much trouble. And Shiro was on standby, just in case anything should happen. Though, nothing did happen.

             Keith was a decent pilot as it turned out.

             The trip out was very smooth without any bumps or hits. If Shiro hadn’t just met Keith less than a day ago, he probably would have relaxed and sat back to let Keith take control completely. But he did only just meet Keith, who was technically a droid, so it was hard for the pilot to let go of control entirely.

             “See, I told you he’d be fine. After all, with everything they’ve programed into him, being a pilot had to have been one of the skills.” Lance grinned smugly from where he had his feet up against a dashboard. Pidge groaned beside him and swatted at his feet, leaving Lance to try and escape the tiny fury of his teammate.

             “But what if something happens?” Hunk asked quietly. “I mean, not that I think you are a bad pilot Keith, not at all. But things happen. Like a faulty engine or an asteroid? Or what if a stray ship suddenly comes out of hyperdrive?” Keith blinked but kept both hands on the controls of the ship and continued to stare straight ahead.

             Every now and again his face would soften into a look of peacefulness, as if he were at peace when he was flying. Which was probably impossible because Keith couldn’t _feel._

             “I can assure you that you are safe Paladin Hunk.” Keith said devoid of any emotion in his voice, though his expression was still softer than it had been. Hunk swallowed not feeling very relieved by Keith’s short reassurance.

             “Come on, you can do better than that.” Pidge finally sighed dramatically and Keith blinked a few more times. Eventually, he turned around in his seat just as Pidge was walking towards him.

             “I apologize. I do not understand.”

             “Your emotional capacity is less than 0 and that is a failure in my books.” Pidge said, placing a hand on Keith’s seat.

             “Emotions?” Keith cocked his head to the side and by now even Lance had stood up.

             “Yeah. You know like happy, sad, angry, guilty, giggly.” Lance explained as he exaggerated his facial expressions to match each emotion he was describing. Keith frowned slightly and looked back towards the vast space in front of him. Pidge and Lance shared a tired sigh.

             “You need to learn emotions. It has been decided.” Lance finally announced and put a hand on the other side of Keith’s ship. Shiro coughed to hide a laugh and watched his team fondly, especially when Keith’s frown only deepened at Lance’s words. “No defender of the Universe can go around looking like Easter Island heads.”

             “I am not a Moai?” Keith defended softly while Lance rolled his eyes.

             “Might as well be. I am a robot. I say boring robot things. I am never happy, nor sad, nor angry.” Lance mocked in a nasally voice, causing Pidge and Hunk to giggle and Shiro to sigh. Keith didn’t bother with a response and only stared at Lance, who shifted uncomfortably for a second. “And the staring has got to stop too. It’s fucking creepy.”

             “I do not require the need to blink.”

             “Then just blink at least once every 3-5 seconds. Staring is creepy and I will not tolerate it.” Lance argued and waited in silence. Finally, after exactly five seconds, Keith blinked. Then after another five he blinked again. “Excellent now let’s move on to emotions.”

             “Now, the first emotion we are going to teach you is happiness.” Lance clapped happily and maneuvered himself so that he was directly in front of Keith with Hunk and Pidge by his side. “Happiness is gold. Happiness is hot babes during long walks on the beaches of Cuba. It’s mom’s delicious pies made every Sunday and family dinners that follow. It’s the sound of _mi hermanas y hermanos_ laughter when I tickle them.”

             “Happiness is adolescent human beings laughing when one stimulates a sensitive motion in one’s nervous system?” Keith frowned and rubbed his chin. Beside him, Lance almost choked on his laughter only to be shoved aside by Pidge.

             “No. Lance is being an idiot, as usual.” They rolled their eyes fondly. “Happiness is a neurological stimulation in the brain where hormones, called Dopamine, are released and chemical reactions occur -” They began only to be shoved aside from Hunk this time, where he huffed.

             “Stop. Pidge, you are boring me to tears.” Hunk rolled his eyes. “Happiness is something that makes humans feel good. It’s a feeling that gives you butterflies or makes you feel warm inside. Like fresh baked cookies on a midsummer day.”

             “If you have butterflies in your digestive system, I would advise removal of them immediately.” Keith interrupted instantly, and this time Lance did in fact burst into tears. Hunk had backed up, clearly distressed by the response and Shiro snickered from his seat.

             “No, it’s a metaphor. There aren’t any actual butterflies in our stomachs.” Hunk said quickly.

             “Oh. That would be medically problematic if you did.” Keith nodded slowly and turned back to the window. Behind him, Shiro shook his head and fondly watched over his team interacting with this new team member. Shiro was still wary of calling Keith a team member, since he wasn’t actually _alive_ , but calling Keith an it or a weapon sounded even worse.

             “Happiness is something that leaves you feeling good. It’s different for everyone. Sometimes it’s family,” Shiro spoke up, causing Keith to look at him. Thankfully he remembered to blink (this was more for Lance’s comfort). Shiro glanced at Lance with a smile. “For some, it’s a freshly baked dessert and home,” A glance to Hunk. “For other’s it’s a means of scientific explanation and creation.” Shiro looked to Pidge. “And for others it is their team. Their home.” Shiro smiled at everyone’s red face and Keith blinked.

             “What makes you happy?” Shiro finally asked Keith, to everyone’s surprise. Even Keith blinked a couple more times, like what Hunk had done to showcase his surprise. Keith looked back at the front window.

             _“Flying makes you real happy, doesn’t it?”_

_“Of course. I was made to be up in the stars.”_

_“Right, whatever you say kid.”_

             Keith’s grip tightened on the wheel and his jaw tensed. His analytics went haywire at the random words that filled him and the images that briefly followed.

             “Keith?” Shiro asked, concerned when the droid didn’t respond back to them. Instead, he was frozen in his chair. Though, none of them missed the brief flicker of _raw_ emotion on his face. It was extremely brief and if you weren’t watching, anyone else would have missed it.

             “I…apologize.” Keith murmured. “My system seems to be running lower than I had anticipated.” Shiro breathed a sigh of relief and nodded. He was a bit ashamed to admit that he didn’t know the first thing about droid experiences. _Did he need to recharge or refuel? How does that even work?_

             “Do you need a nap?” Lance asked.

             “No. I do not require rest such as you do. I will simply recharge once we have safely landed somewhere for you to rest.” Keith said blandly and Lance sighed. Looks like boring, old, emotionless Keith was back to stay.

             Everyone headed back to their stations while Keith remained in his seat, eyes trained on the stars in front of them. All was quiet, with Hunk and Pidge quietly swapping coordinates and engine codes and Lance beginning to take over for Shiro. AS Shiro walked down the bridge he passed by Keith, and barely caught the tiny whisper from the droid.

             “Flying.”

x.x.V.x.x

There’s so much more than I ever saw.

_Space is big. There’s a lot more to the universe than any of us know._

More I must protect you from.

_Please don’t._

x.x.V.x.x

             The crew had settled on a small moon to land their ship in order to rest and allow Keith to recharge. Pidge had asked the droid a million questions about the process of recharging. Their little brains were on fire with questions and curiosity about the mechanisms of droids and how they operated. Keith answered stiffly. Pidge _and_ Lance were disappointed to learn that Keith would simply “shut down” in an available pod to recharge. His body would use the pod’s energy as a way to boost his charges back up and keep him going. At the moment, Keith had to charge every other night but he claimed that Zarkon was attempting to build droids that would _never_ needed to be recharged.

             Shiro was wary once Keith was placed into a pod, his head down and his eyes closed. He didn’t move once the glass was back over the pod and it was a bit disturbing to look at. He looked more human than ever, almost like he was asleep (if you ignored the metallic arm and leg).

             However, afterwards everyone else had gone to their quarters to rest. Shiro struggled to fall asleep, checking in on all of his teammates and Keith. Everyone else was sound asleep but Shiro’s mind was plagued with guilt.

             He was possibly going to send his team out on a suicide mission. His team of young, _kids_ on a suicide mission. He was leading them to their deaths and he knew it. Sure, it was for the greater good in order to save humanity but Shiro couldn’t bring himself to sacrifice his teammates like that – his _family._ _How can I call myself their leader when I am leading them right to their deaths?_

             “You are troubled.”

             Shiro jumped and his arm blazed to life, heating up and glowing within seconds. He was turned and poised his fist right under the jaw of the intruder behind him. Only to realize that it was Keith. Keith who was staring blankly at Shiro and did not even move to defend himself against Shiro. _I could have easily killed him._

             “Keith, don’t sneak up on people like that.” Shiro huffed, more embarrassed than anything before his arm went dark again and he removed it from Keith’s throat. Keith merely blinked, eyes unusually bright in the dark. “Next time, make sure people know you’re behind them before you speak.”

             “I apologize.”

             “It’s nothing to be sorry for. Just be careful. I wouldn’t…want to hurt you.” Shiro admitted before leaning back against a wall. Keith stood still in the same spot he’d been in.

             “It would not have been your fault.” Keith simply said and Shiro sighed.

             “But it would have been.” Shiro tried to explain. “You’re a part of this team. Droid or human and we look out for one another. No one hurts anyone here.”

             “I would never hurt a Paladin of Voltron. I serve to protect them.”

             “I know that Keith. But that includes you too. We look out for each other, and you’re a part of this team now.” Shiro smiled softly. Keith’s lips curved downward into a tiny frown peeking Shiro’s interest. _It seems like Keith was learning facial expressions._ “Anyway, I thought you were in the pod recharging?”

             “I was but I sensed that someone was wandering the ship. I came to investigate when I realized it was you. You appear to be troubled.” Keith stated and Shiro sighed.

             “I always have a hard time sleeping. Insomnia.” Shiro explained casually, hoping that would be enough for Keith. Though, the droid was more stubborn than he looked and Shiro almost laughed at the new look on Keith’s face. It was one that Shiro was familiar with and a face he probably made every day. A look of exasperation.

             “You are troubled though.” Keith stated and Shiro knew that the droid wasn’t about to leave anytime soon. He didn’t know whether to feel annoyed by the action or relieved. Sometimes it was nice to not be alone on these nights. Although, Shiro didn’t know if a droid counted as a comforting presence right now. Keith hadn’t done anything to intend harm on them, in fact he’d only ever done the opposite.

             “I’m just wondering if it was the right decision to bring the others on this mission.” Shiro admitted softly, staring out into space. He kept his gaze on a bright star in the distance that was burning brightly as they passed them and he could remember a time where his father used to point out all the new stars to him when he was a child aboard one of the human ships. Shiro’s parents had been born on a ship just as he had and just as his grandfather had. In fact, the last known Shirogane that _not_ been born on a ship was his great grandfather, Sven. He was one of the last humans to have been born on Earth and over time, Shiro’s family had forgotten what Earth was like. Especially after Sven’s early death, just before his grandmother was born.

             “This mission is screaming _death._ And Lance, Pidge and Hunk – they’re all so young. They have so much of their life ahead of them. It makes me sick to think about this being their last mission ever, and I’m doing _nothing_ but leading them to it.” Shiro wrung his hands together nervously and Keith didn’t move to comfort him. “How can I be a good leader if I’m doing this?”

             “You’re not sending them to their deaths.” Keith said quietly and Shiro snorted bitterly.

             “You don’t understand Keith, you heard Iverson. This is basically a suicide mission.”

             “I will not let any harm come to a Paladin of Earth. You will not die. As Paladin Lance, Paladin Pidge and Paladin Hunk will not.” Keith confirmed before Shiro could finish. “As a droid of the Galra Empire it is my duty to protect you all and I will not let any of you die. Until my last moments, I will protect you all.”

             Shiro swallowed thickly as the words sat uncomfortably in his gut. “I appreciate the thought Keith, but even you would be no match against an entire defense system. I just hate doing this to them.”

             “I might be new to humans.” Keith said slowly, causing Shiro to finally look away from the stars and look at the droid. He was amazed to see a small frown on Keith’s face and his expression looked as if he were thinking hard. “However, I know that Paladin Lance, Pidge and Hunk were not forced into this mission by you. They chose to follow you willingly because you are their leader. You did not force any of them onto this mission and you will not fail.” By now Keith had lost the thoughtful expression and had replaced it with a look of such seriousness and determination that Shiro almost smiled at the boy – _droid._

             That is until he and Keith were nearly thrown by a sudden and heavy force, that rocked the ship back and forth. Shiro caught himself on the wall beside him as Keith dug his metal heel into the ground. They both flailed their arms as the ship shook violently again and Shiro was on the move, with Keith right on his heels.

             Shiro almost ran into Lance and the others when they emerged from their rooms, eyes wide with panic and faces pale. _I thought the war had ended with the death of Alfor._

             “Shiro, what’s going on?!” Pidge cried and stumbled when the ship shook again.

             “The ship is under attack.” Keith announced, before sprinting ahead of everyone. “An enemy ship is within orbit.” With that, Keith was sprinting towards the hatch door much to the bewilderment of everyone else in the ship.

             “Keith! Wait, hold on!” Shiro called out only for Keith to ignore him. The droid hopped through the hatch and was sucked out into space before any of them could even move. Lance nearly gawked at the sight while Shiro cursed to himself and Hunk blinked before sharing a look at Pidge.

             “Dammit! Get to your stations now! Lance get us out of here! Pidge, figure out who is attacking us! Hunk, make sure our ship is read to fly or fight!” Shiro barked orders to his teammates, who all thankfully listened without hesitation.

             “What about Keith?” Hunk asked when everyone was strapped into their seats. Shiro grips his seat and swallowed thickly.

             “He’ll be fine. Just keep doing your jobs.” Shiro didn’t even want to begin thinking about Keith. Keith who had just jumped into the emptiness that was space. The nothingness. The darkness and airless vacuum that was space.

             He could see the dubious looks in the others’ eyes but luckily no one said anything and instead got to ready to prepare for battle. It took Shiro a moment to realize that all of them had been imagining scenarios of Keith as if he were a human.

             _As if he were alive._

             Keith would be fine.

             At least, Shiro hoped Keith would be fine.

             “There’s a ship on the left side of us. It’s attacking our main engine sources!” Pidge announced, eyes rapidly scanning the central station before them. Shiro cursed as he already started maneuvering the ship out of range. “It’s bulky with large ammunition but it doesn’t look to be very fast.”

             “Which means we make a quick get away.” Shiro commanded softly.

             “What about Keith?” Lance asked as their ship jerked from another blast. Everyone desperately held onto their seats and Shiro swallowed thickly. “He’s still out there!”

             “We’ll get Keith. First, we need to see who is attacking us!” Shiro barked and suddenly the ship was thrown forward at lightning speed. As a ship of smaller and sleeker design, their ship easily could maneuver through the asteroid belt and out of range of the ship aiming at them. Once Shiro and lance had turned the ship around everyone could get a good look at the ship that had been firing at them.

             “Our engines didn’t sustain much damage. Everything looks to be alright.” Hunk announced slowly. “Though I wouldn’t advise letting them shoot at us too much more.” As uncomfortable as the situation was, Hunk was still intrigued by this enemy ship. After all, they had threatened his family and that was a terrible thing to do in Hunk’s mind.

             The enemy ship was impressive. Very impressive.

             But it was also quite large. Not as large as those of the Galra empire fleet, but rather large to be a standard fighting ship. Its shape reminded Shiro of a rocket, from old videos that Shiro had seen of Earth, before the war. Apparently, rockets were how humans originally got to space. However, the slender and minimalist design with harsh edges was familiar to Shiro and his teams. Quite familiar.

             It was that of an Altean ship.

             “It looks Altean.” Pidge mumbled thoughtfully, just as another blast was shot towards them. Shiro quickly flew the ship away from the laser and began speeding around the enemy ship, avoiding every single blast shot at them. “I thought the Galra had put a stop to every enemy ship since Alfor’s _defeat.”_

             “That’s what I thought.” Shiro growled and the ship rumbled when a blast narrowly missed them. It was then that a blast was fired directly at them, and Shiro knew that it would hit them, only to be surprised when the blast suddenly changed direction and fired upward before it could hit their ship. Another blast fired upward before it stopped completely. During this window of opportunity, Shiro and Lance flew towards the enemy ship. They prayed that the cannon would not fire again and were pleasantly surprised to see a small red blob flying around the cannon.

             The closer the Paladins got towards the ship, the clearer that the red blob became and everyone almost gawked. Well, Lance’s mouth did in fact drop open.

             The red blob was _Keith._

             Keith who was currently trying to cut his way into the hall of the ship, straight through the metal all by himself. It would have almost been comical if the situation wasn’t so dire at the moment. However, what was more of a surprise was the fact that the cannon laser on the enemy ship looked to be broken. It was twisted and bent upward, with metal crunched up in a ball and Shiro glanced between the broken weapon and Keith who was only a mere few feet away.

             _He couldn’t have…could he?_

             There was so much that Shiro and his team didn’t know about Keith. About how he worked or his mechanisms. They’d never bothered to ask Zarkon and right now Shiro was beginning to regret not asking anything about their droid.

             Though, the fact of the matter was that the weapon was non functional thanks to Keith. They had a shot at defeating this ship.

             “Did Keith do that?” Lance was the first to speak out loud. “Are you – are you fucking kidding me? Was that _Keith?!”_

             “How is he even capable of being outside for so long and having such strength to twist the cannon like that?” Pidge added thoughtfully as they zeroed in on Keith.

             “Who cares!” Hunk finally cried. “We have an enemy ship, capable of doing whatever, and its main weapon source is _down,_ and you wanna debate Keith’s super human strength? Now?”

             “Hunk’s right. Our first priority is taking this ship under our command.” Shiro commanded softly. The others each nodded without hesitation. “Pidge see if you can get a connection to their ship. If they surrender, we keep on watch. If not, prepare to fire.”

             Pidge nodded, flipping a few switches before grabbing the radio on their dashboard.

             “Attention unknown ship. This is the Special Operations Unit of the Galara Human Alliance, under the command of Captain Takashi Shirogane. You are requested to surrender yourselves to us and your ship or we are to fire.”

             A few seconds passed with nothing but silence and static over the radio. Shiro felt an uncomfortable feeling build up in his gut as he gripped his controllers tighter. The others tensed up.

             “I repeat. Unknown ship, you are being marked as a weapon of the enemy. Under the command of the Galra Human Alliance, you are to surrender. Now.” Pidge repeated once more and listened to the static.

             Then suddenly there was a sharp hiss and the noise of static increased until a video image popped up on their screen. In place of the screen was a striking, young woman. Her eyes were a bright violet color, cold and calculating as she looked from each paladin. Her hair was as white as snow and pulled up into a tight bun on her head and his skin was a rich dark color. However, the two markings just under her eyes signified her Altean biology. Not only that, but they resembled those marking of an enemy just recently defeated.

             There was no question of this.

             This was Alfor’s missing daughter.

             Shiro, Hunk, Lance and Pidge all recognized her.

             “The princess!” Lance cried out but no one paid him any attention.

             “State your name and business _Altean._ You are under arrest for attacking a commanding ship.” Shiro said quickly. His knuckles were white from how tight he was gripping the controls. The princess narrowed her eyes at Shiro, as if gazing unimpressed at an insect under a microscope. But Shiro refused to squirm for her.

             “I am Princess Allura of Altea. My father, King Alfor, was murdered by _your_ kind.” The princess hissed. “As you have slaughtered many more of _my_ people.”

             “Your father, and all the others before him were traitors to the Galactic Alliance!” Pidge snapped, feeling their temper shorten. “Because of him _my_ people lost our _home!_ Because of him, many of our kind has died!”

             “Your kind has died because of whom you allied yourselves with!” The princess shot back and Pidge nearly shot out of their seat. If not for the sharp look from Shiro, Pidge would have smashed the screen and fired at the princess’s ship.

             “Princess Allura, don’t you think enough people have died in this war? On all sides?” Shiro finally spoke up, drawing the princess’s attention away from Pidge to him. _Good, stay away from them. All of them, and focus on me._ “Can we not end this meaningless fighting once and for all? Peace will be declared. Simply surrender yourself and no one else needs to die.”

             Allura snorted. “And I suppose once I surrender, my people will live _peacefully?”_ She snarled and Shiro didn’t flinch. “You think that if I surrender that _Zarkon_ will let my people go without punishment? I don’t think so. He would sooner slaughter every last Altean _child_ than build peace with us.”

             At this Shiro did flinch. “Zarkon wants this war ended just as we do.”

             “You know nothing of what Zarkon wants, _human.”_ Allura spat. “You know nothing of _what_ Zarkon is, or what he is capable of. You are making a mistake, allying yourself with them. Everything is not what it seems in this war. You do not know what is to come.”

             Shiro paused. He’d heard that before. With Alfor. _Why did they keep saying that?_

             “I know that it’s my sworn duty to protect _everyone._ That includes your people.” Shiro continued, ignoring the dark look from the others. “I’m tired of this war Princess Allura. Aren’t you?”

             For the first time during the entire conversation, the princess didn’t look angry. In fact, she looked weary and tired, as if aged by sorrows and pains. It was a dark look that was all too familiar to Shiro during this war.

             Just as the princess opened her mouth to speak, there was a loud bang from behind her and a bright explosion. She ducked for cover, and Shiro could see a figure emerging from the fire towards the camera.

             “Holy – _Keith?!”_ Lance shouted and Shiro swallowed.

             “My name is Keith. I am the droid, K13T4 made to protect the Paladins of Earth. I will protect them with my life.” Keith said monotonously and Shiro swallowed upon seeing the glowing red eyes, rather than the violet eyes they were all so used to. Keith’s entire right arm had morphed into that of a long sword blade, which was still connected to his shoulder. Keith had the blade drawn out in front of him, and the Paladins of Earth could tell that he was seconds away from striking.

             “A droid?” Allura had finally spoken up from off screen. “No, that’s not right, is it? You are something more, aren’t you? You are a victim of the Galra aren’t you?”

             “I am sworn by Zarkon to protect the Paladins of Earth.” Keith said, with a bit more determination than before. Alarms blared in the background and Shiro spared a look at his team. With only a single nod, the team was ready for action and their ship was hurtling towards the princess’s ship. Only to be stopped by a much smaller ship with a similar design to theirs.

             It was Galran, so _why_ were they stopping the Paladins?

             The video on their screen split into two and suddenly Shiro, Lance, Hunk and Pidge were greeted by a tall Galra man. He had white markings all over his slender face and white fur down the center of his head. His expression was pinched and Shiro could feel unease pooling from him.

             “Paladins of Earth, I must request that you do not interfere any further.” The Galra commanded causing everyone to frown.

             “Who are you? The Altean princess is on that ship.” Shiro said and the Galra frowned.

             “We are aware. But you must not interfere any further.” The Galra continued and Shiro’s jaw almost dropped. He didn’t understand why the Galra wouldn’t want to capture the missing princess.

             “Sir, you don’t understand –”

             “I understand perfectly. You want to capture the princess or destroy this ship?” The Galra asked and Shiro nodded. His heart dropped when the Galra didn’t move, but rather sighed. “I’m afraid I cannot let you do that.”

             “What do you mean?!” Lance exploded. For once, Shiro wasn’t about to reprimand the explosion as he felt just as strongly about the situation as Lance. _Why? Why? Why?_ “She is the _enemy!_ We have orders to capture her!”

             “I know and for this, I am sorry. But I cannot let you take the princess.” The Galra said and before anyone could make a move, their entire ship light up with electricity. It sparked through the ship, causing lights and buttons to burst and zapped through their protective gear inside of the paladins. Unimaginable pain, coursed through Shiro and judging by the gasps of pain from behind him, everyone else was feeling the pain as he was. He could barely move in his seat, barely even blink with a screamed silently etched in his throat, unable to make a noise.

             He could see the video feeds of the Galran and Keith getting fuzzier and fuzzier while his own vision grew darker. Just before Shiro and the others lost consciousness, they could hear someone whisper one word.

             “Akira.”

x.x.V.x.x

I couldn’t protect you this time. For that I’ve failed.

_Why would you say that?_

You’re hurt. How can I let you get hurt?

_That’s what being human means. You feel pain. You cry._

I don’t want it.

_Neither did we._

x.x.V.x.x

             The world came back to Shiro slowly. It was full of bright lights and dulled noises and for a split second Shiro had feared that he was back _there._ Back as a prisoner on an unknown ship with faceless creatures poking, cutting and prodding him. Making him scream and scream until there was nothing left.

             But no.

             He was still on his ship. In his seat, with his team. He was safe and far from _that_ place. Wherever it was. Shiro heard several groans from behind him as he struggled to sit up, noticing how sore and tense his body was. He wearily looked out the window and was unsurprised to not see the princess’s ship, nor the unknown Galra ship anywhere in sight. He sighed in defeat and slumped down in his chair. Until a thought crossed his mind and he jumped out of his chair.

             _Keith!_ Shiro could remember Keith still on that other ship. _Had they taken him? Was he gone? Was he safe at all?_

             “Shiro?” Shiro turned around and was met with the sight of Keith, looking a bit haggard but otherwise alright. His head cocked to the side and Shiro was stunned by the look of concern on Keith’s face. His right arm’s glove was ripped to shreds and Shiro could see a black metallic arm, similar to his own arm in place of the blade from earlier.

             “Keith? How – how did you…”

             “I regret to inform you that in order to protect you all, after the unknown Galran ship interfered that I had to make a hasty escape back. I left the enemy unattended and they have got away. The princess and the Galra ship.” Keith bowed his head in defeat and Shiro sighed wearily. Thankfully the rest of his team was beginning to awaken fully and everyone seemed unharmed.

             “Keith! You’re back!” Lance grinned immediately upon seeing the droid. At this Hunk and Pidge both perked up.

             “Dude, how did you destroy that cannon? And fly in space?!” Pidge exclaimed, eyes sparkling. Shiro was happy to let his team have this moment and forget about their defeated mission.

             “What is a dude?” Keith blinked and Lance groaned.

             “Forget about that, you infiltrated an Altean ship, by _yourself!”_

             “Yes.”

             “How?!” Lance cried and Keith blinked again.

             “It was relatively easy. I’m sure anyone with the capability would have been able to get on.”

             “Are you mocking me!?”

             “No, I was simply answering your question.”

             “You said I wasn’t capable!”

             “Actually I never did.”

             “Did too.”

             “No.”

             “Did!”

             “No.”

             “Alright, that’s enough you two.” Shiro shook his head to hide his smile, and he pinched the bridge of his nose. Now wasn’t the time for some social bonding, no matter how much it looked like fighting. “Keith, are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?”

             Shiro couldn’t see any wounds visible on Keith, though he wasn’t even sure if Keith could get wounds like the rest of them? _Could he get hurt? Does he even feel pain?_

             Keith merely frowned at Shiro’s concern. “I am not hurt. Why would you be concerned if I was hurt? You are my concern.” Keith asked and the others snorted in response.

             “It’s what people do Keith. We make sure everyone isn’t, and that does include you.” Hunk said quietly but Keith didn’t look like he was understanding. Not that Shiro thought he would. He seemed a bit slower on all this “team help” type of knowledge.

             “But there is no need for you to worry. I do not require you to –”

             “It’s not about that. You’re a part of this team and we worry about each other. If you’re hurt then we will help. Just like if Lance or Pidge or Hunk were hurt I’d worry.” Shiro interrupted, causing Keith to suddenly close his mouth. His frown remained but at least he didn’t continue to argue with anyone.

             “I am not physically harmed in any threatening way.” Keith finally admitted and Shiro blinked.

             “Wait…”

             “Does that mean you’re hurt?!” Lance interrupted as Shiro began to realize what Keith was saying. Lance was quick to jump over at Keith and grab his arm before Keith could even protest. Instead, Keith merely blinked at Lance’s reaction. Lance shoved down Keith’s collar to his space suit to reveal a long gash along Keith’s neck, covered in a dark black, dry substances.

             It almost looked like blood, except it was black. _Right?_

             “Keith, are you hurt?” Shiro asked and Hunk and Pidge all crowded around Keith. Shiro didn’t think that Keith could bleed, because after all he was a droid. If Keith had been human, a wound like that on the neck would have _killed_ them. Galra, Altean or human.

             “No. This was a minor inconvenience from the princess when I had to get away. I am alright now. She managed to slice through my outer layer of protection, but my inner workings helped to prevent any more damage.” Keith explained while blinking owlishly.

             “Dude, that looks gross. Is that blood?” Lance asked and Hunk looked a bit green.

             “How can it be blood? He’s not human.” Pidge rolled their eyes, elbowing Lance in the ribs.

             “It is not blood. Just some of the substances that keep my body going. Fuel, as you might call it.” Keith explained but it didn’t sound any better to Shiro than if Keith had announced that it was blood. “I am fine, the wound is already closed and I am repaired. Please do not worry, we have more pressing matters to worry about.”

             The others still didn’t look convinced but they eventually stopped pestering Keith when he wouldn’t answer any of their concerns. Eventually, Shiro sighed and slumped back into his chair. Lately, life wasn’t going how Shiro had wanted.

             Rather, life seemed to be making an effort to make his life harder than necessary.

             “Yes. We need to alert the command station that we had located the princess.” Shiro nodded, earning sheepish looks from the rest of his team. “We don’t know where she is now, but at least we know where she _was._ I’m sure commander Zarkon can find a team to go after her. We have our own mission to find earth, and we can’t get sidetracked. Not even for the princess.”

             “I guess.” Hunk shrugged and the others nodded. “But what about those Galran? They’re traitors, aren’t they? But why?”

             “Who knows. Who cares.” Lance shrugged.

             Shiro glared at Lance but sighed. “I don’t know Hunk. People do strange things in war.”

             “If only we could understand _why_ they betrayed the Galran empire. It seems highly weird for any Galran to not be loyal to their empire.” Pidge scratched their nose.

             “Actually, we can.” Keith spoke up softly and everyone stared at the droid once more.

             Lance laughed first. “Um, what?”

             “One of the Galran traitors was on the princess’s ship. I was able to apprehend them before getting back to this ship.” Keith explained and watched as everyone’s eyes widened dramatically. “I wanted to kill the being responsible for bringing harm to my paladins but I believe that he could be of use to us. So I rendered him unconscious, and he is currently locked up in one of the lower cells.” At this, the room exploded in chaos.

             “You unarmed a Galran officer?!”

             “He’s on this ship!”

             “Is it safe to have him on the ship?”

             “This ship has cells?”

             “Alright! Enough.” Shiro commanded and the room began silent once more. However, the tension was high and everyone looked uneasy or uncomfortable. Though, Shiro couldn’t blame his team. He was rather uncomfortable knowing Keith had rendered a Galra unconscious and brought him onto the ship, but still, this could be of use to them. Looking at each member of his team, he could easily read all of their expressions. Hunk was scared, probably because a potential traitor and enemy was onboard with them. Pidge was intrigued, probably by Keith’s incredible strength and the desire to question the traitor. Lance looked determined, probably hoping to get back at those who might have caused him pain before. Keith didn’t have any expression but rather he was looking expectantly at Shiro.

             In that moment, Keith knew what to do.

             He would not put his team in harm’s way.

             “Keith, where is the prisoner?”


	3. Zarkon

“Who are you? Why have you betrayed your people?”

             The prisoner remained silent despite the situation. His gaze was firmly locked onto Shiro’s right arm, causing Shiro some unease but he never responded to any of their questions. He was a tall Galra, large fluffy ears on top of his head and silver stripes throughout his fur. His face looked weary and old with age and sadness. He was taller than everyone in the room and looked silly in the small chair with handcuffs around his hands and feet and a collar over his neck. His yellows eyes were unblinking.

             _Weird._

             “I’ll repeat myself. Tell us who you are and where you are hiding the princess. End this war, right now.” Shiro growled once more, only for the Galra to remain motionless where he was.  It was getting frustrating. After hours, the Galra had not cracked and eventually Lance had left to continue flying them to Earth’s location. Hunk had also left, not wanting to be in the same room as a traitor and only Shiro and Pidge remained.

             “Listen here, you purple piece of –” Pidge started tersely, only to be cut off by the sound of the cell door opening. Shiro and Pidge both turned to see Keith enter the room, and to Shiro’s surprise, the Galra finally reacted.

             Upon Keith’s entrance, his yellow eyes flickered towards the door and slowly raised as Keith came into the room. That’s when the Galra’s eyes widened and he attempted to stand up. He only made it a couple of inches off the chair before the chains on his hand zapped down to the table and kept him there. The cuffs on his feet did the same and locked onto his chair. This frustrated him more than Shiro’s questioning and he stared at Shiro as if demanding to be released.

             Shiro saw a familiar red glow along Keith’s arm and he absently touched his own right arm.

             “Keith, it’s alright. He’s no danger to us.” Shiro said, while Pidge snorted. Thankfully, Keith seemed to understand what Shiro was trying to say and his arm returned to its normal black color. Though his eyes remained slightly red, flickering under the light.

             “Has the traitor given any useful information?” Keith asked when he took a spot next to Shiro. Shiro shook his head with a sigh.             

             “No. After four hours, he hasn’t said a word. Hadn’t even moved until you came in.” Shiro explained. He watched as the Galra tried to move again before he growled lowly. Instantly, Keith’s eyes were trained on the Galra and his lips curled back into a familiar snarl. One that look similar to Lance’s expression when he was angry. _Was Keith watching their expressions? Could he be learning?_

             “State your name and business traitor. You have caused harm to the Paladins of Earth, and it is my sworn duty to protect them. Your death will be of great help to them.” Keith commanded, stepping in front of Shiro as if protecting him from the chained Galra.

             The Galra leaned away from Keith, like he had been shocked. His mouth dropped open in a tiny ‘o’ in surprise and Shiro’s frown deepened. Behind Keith’s back, he and Pidge shared a look of concern.

             Still the Galra did not speak.

             “I command you to speak, you traitor!” Keith snarled again, this time slamming his hands on the table. Pidge jumped in shock and Shiro could feel his arm warming up. His heart raced in his chest when Keith’s eyes flashed red.

             “Keith, that’s enough.” Shiro said softly but Keith remained rigid.

             “Akira.” Finally, the Galra spoke.

             Shiro, Pidge and even Keith looked confused at this. Keith momentarily moved away from the Galra and Shiro lowered his arm. Pidge’s brows furrowed as they began to type into a computer on their arm.

             “Your name is not Akira. What nonsense is that?” Keith scoffed and Shiro almost snorted. _Yeah, Lance has been teaching him a few things._ “Your name is Thace Kugaloan. You are a traitor to the Galra Empire of fleet #771. Where is Princess Allura?”

             “Akira.”

             “Why do you insist on saying that. Does Akira have the princess?” Keith asked again and his hands gripped the table to tightly that they were leaving marks. The Galra only blinked at Keith and for a moment, Shiro could see a clear expression on his face. It was an expression that turned from disbelief to wonder then to utter sadness in the span of a few seconds.

             “Akira…”

             _“Akira. Come on, how about one race?”_

_“As if. I’d wipe your ass in a second.”_

_“If you’re so confident, why not accept?”_

_“Because, Thace we have more important matters to attend to. Under Zarkon’s orders.”_

_“You’re no fun. What a boring Captain.”_

_“A boring captain that keeps your safe and fed. Now shut up and let’s head back to base.”_

             Bright lights.

             So bright and so…

             Painful.

             So much _pain._

             “Who is Akira?!” Keith hissed, raising one arm, only to be stopped by Shiro. Keith immediately turned to Shiro, snarl still in place only for Shiro to pull his arm back. His own arm began to thrum with power as he swallowed.

             “Keith. I said that’s enough,” Shiro said softly. After a few tense seconds, Keith’s eyes slowly returned to their natural violet color. His body relaxed and he began to pull away from Thace and away from Shiro.

             “I apologize Shiro. My actions are regrettable.” Keith’s eyes drifted downward and finally Shiro felt comfortable enough to let go.

             “It’s alright. We’re all angry here.” Shiro said, to which Keith frowned and cocked his head in wonder. “It’s a stressful situation. Wait outside for us. We’re almost finished here. Pidge and I will be okay.” Shiro promised. It took a few minutes for Keith to accept Shiro’s word, but when he did eventually exit the room and close the door, Shiro could see that Thace’s eyes never left Keith.

             “What do you want with him?” Shiro finally asked, arms crossed over his chest and eyes narrowed. Thace looked at Shiro for the first time since Shiro had arrived in the cell, and Shiro almost shivered at the defeated look in Thace’s yellow eyes.

             “Keith.” Thace whispered hoarsely and one of Shiro’s eyebrows rose. “You call him Keith?”

             “That’s his name now. Why do you call him Akira?” Shiro countered shortly. Thace blinked before numbly looking at the table. His entire body screamed defeat.

             “Why is his name Keith?”

             “Why is your name Thace? Why is Zarkon named like that? It’s a name.” Pidge snapped and Shiro laughed lightly.

             “Zarkon is not who he seems. I have seen what he is capable of, in the past and _that_ is why I defy his empire.” Thace said, voice never wavering despite his form. “He is capable of dark deeds, Black Paladin of Earth, and he is using you. You and all of the humans. When Zarkon wins, there will be nothing left but death and a darkness in the universe.” By now, Thace was looking directly at Shiro and Pidge with an expression that could only be described as determination lead on by guilt.

             “He will not stop at anything to win. And he will _kill_ you all.”

             Having heard enough, and with his heart hammering, Shiro stormed out of the cell. Pidge was hot on his trail but locked the cell and scampered off after a dark look from Shiro. Shiro could feel his emotions going haywire.

             _What did one Galra know? He’s a traitor, of course he hates Zarkon. He has no idea about what this war has done to us. What does he know?_

             Shiro stopped in his deprecating thoughts and his anger upon seeing Keith staring at Thace through the cell. He froze at the confused look on Keith’s face before placing a hand on Keith’s shoulder. Keith didn’t so much as flinch at the unexpected touch, but instead glanced at Shiro for a moment before observing Thace once more.

             The two stood in silence, lost to their own thoughts and to Thace’s words.

             “Why would he call me Akira?” Keith finally asked, voice much quieter than Shiro had ever heard.

             “Maybe you remind him of someone he once knew.” Shiro shrugged.

             “But who is Akira?” Keith asked. He didn’t receive an answer from Shiro or Thace, not that he was expecting too. Thace’s words plagued his mind with confusion and anger.

_Who is Akira to this Galra?_

x.x.V.x.x

Are we doing the right thing?

_The right thing can hurt the most._

I don’t like this pain. Take it away.

_I cannot._

Please.

_I’m sorry._

x.x.V.x.x

             Thace seemed much more willing to talk after seeing Keith and speaking. He didn’t exactly try to answer any of Shiro’s questions though but would rather try to express his anger and frustration at their willingness to follow Zarkon’s orders. That and to demand to see Akira. Though Thace knew Keith’s name, he never referred to Keith as Keith. Always Akira.

             Always.

             It made Pidge uneased about the whole situation. They had come up with two theories. One was that Thace was disillusioned and thought that Keith really was someone that he knew, and thought he could help. The other was that Thace was just faking it and trying to frustrate everyone. Pidge had first thought the second theory to be true, but after a few days, they were starting to lean towards Theory Number One to be true. Who had figured that they would have an insane criminal aboard their ship while flying to Earth for the first time ever in centuries.

             Keith had been adamant about avoiding Thace, only coming to stalk – er _observe_ – the Galra when Thace was asleep. Each time he would stare at Thace with the same expression and same posture.

             Confusion.

             Of course, Thace and Keith’s behavior intrigued Pidge so they set out to do what they do best. Find answers and solve the problem.

             That of course required a lot of stealth. Which Pidge was fantastic at of course.

             Most of the time.

             Still, they impressively were able to gather as much information as they could in order to begin drawing conclusions about what could be happening between Thace and Keith. Unfortunately, Pidge came to a blank for that, though they came upon some rather useful information elsewhere about this supposed “Akira” figure. The answers that Pidge had come across though, weren’t exactly as promising as they had hoped. They seemed all the more darker and made reality feel twisted the more that they thought about it.

             The answers came up illogical.

           _Wrong._

           _Unrelated._

             And yet, what if there was something they were missing? Hadn’t the princess and the king said that before?

             Keith didn’t recognize the name and had finally left Thace in order to fly the ship. The team worried when they neared an asteroid belt while Keith was piloting, however they were pleasantly shocked at how _great_ a pilot Keith was. He easily maneuvered through the belt without hitting a single asteroid, ducking in between rocks and maneuvering with relative ease and comfort. It was incredible at how good Keith could fly, after having only flown for a week now.

             Too good for a droid.

             “Pidge? Haven’t seen you around much. I hope your still sleeping on a schedule and eating properly.” Shiro greeted them when they entered the room where Shiro was observing Thace. Pidge could instantly hear the dad-like scolding tone in Shiro’s voice and they _almost_ hung their head with guilt. But the knowledge that Pidge had dug up was more important than lack of sleep or improper nutrition for a few hours.

             “Yeah. You remember Thace talking about an Akira, when he saw Keith?” Pidge cut to the chase, making Shiro’s mouth twitch into a grin. _Always straight to the point._

             “Yeah, of course. He seemed to be very adamant that Keith was this Akira.” Shiro nodded.

             “Well, didn’t that name seem somewhat familiar to you? Like you’ve heard it before?” Pidge continued, as they began to pull something up on their tablet screen. Shiro rubbed his chin thoughtfully, thinking hard about the question. Now that Pidge had mentioned it, the name _did_ sound a bit familiar. It was on the tip of his tongue, but Shiro couldn’t place exactly where he had heard the name before. He knew that he _had_ heard the name before.

             “I suppose so. But where?”

             Pidge handed over her tablet to Shiro with a heavy look in their eyes. “Have you ever heard of Akira Kogane? The number one pilot in the Earth unit.”

             Shiro stared at the profile before him and his eyes widened in disbelief. Every human had heard of Akira before. Akira and his team were famous in the human race, being a part of the team who were the last known humans to have set foot on Earth before, over 200 years ago. He was the best pilot that Earth had to offer and a well defender of the human and Galran race. The legend of Akira had been taught in every flight school humans had to offer, and every pilot knew the name by the time they graduated. This Akira was the reason that Earth was so safely hidden.

             “Why would Thace have any connection to this Akira? Akira died in a suicide mission with his team, almost 200 years ago.” Shiro asked, scrolling through the old profile of the deceased war hero. He had once known Akira’s statistics by heart and had every quote by him memorized. But most of that had been wiped after his year in captivity. Now scrolling through the profile, Shiro was reminded once more of the great war hero that Earth celebrated. Akira was someone that Shiro had dreamed to be when he was a child, just like every other human.

             “I don’t know; but Akira’s picture? Maybe that’s why.” Pidge swallowed, fiddling with their hands.

             Truthfully, Shiro had never seen a picture of Akira and not many had. Apparently, despite his fame, Akira had stayed out of the spotlight and only a few known pictures were still left of him. Many of which were highly classified.

             Seeing Akira’s picture for the first time, Shiro felt an uneasy feeling settle in his stomach. Like he had eaten something rancid.

             Because Akira looked _exactly_ like Keith.

x.x.V.x.x

How can you leave us like that?

_It’s what I must do to protect you._

You don’t have to.

_I must._

x.x.V.x.x

             “Akira…Kogane?” Keith frowned, brows furrowed in a familiar expression of confusion. He was staring down at the tablet with Akira’s profile up. After Pidge and Shiro had seen the profile and were left uneasy, they shared it with Hunk and Lance and then Keith. “I’m afraid – I’m afraid that my sensors have no information on this Akira. I cannot locate anything on him.” For the first time since his arrival, Keith looked truly frightened _(if only for a brief second)_.

             “What? I thought you knew _everyone?”_ Hunk’s jaw dropped and the others were just as unnerved. “Heck you even knew that young Thace Galra guy!”

             “He is not young, he is over 300 years old.” Keith informed tightly, but his eyes never left the screen of the tablet. Upon mentioning the Galra’s age, Shiro’s entire body tensed and he could see Pidge flinch.

             “Wait, wait, wait. You’re saying he’s 300? Years old?” Lance sputtered and Keith frowned.

             “I do believe I just informed you of that.”

             “But how is that possible?!”

             “Galra and Alteans are not like humans. Actually, out of many species, humans have the shortest lifespans. Typically living 70-80 years and some can live just over 100 years of age.” Keith explained distractedly as he looked over the profile once more. “However, many Galra can live well over a millennium and Alteans live several millenniums. Zarkon himself though is nearly 2,000 years old.”

             It was like dropping a bomb shell over the Paladins.

             For the first time, they were all beginning to realize how _little_ they knew about the Galra. About Zarkon and Alteans. Maybe even about this war. _How could we not know this?_

             “That is one old lizard man.” Pidge mumbled under their breath. Shiro was too stunned to reprimand the younger paladin.

             “I look like him. Don’t I?” Keith finally asked, fingers brushing over the photo on the tablet. His eyes had a far-away look in them and Shiro was hesitant to answer. Though, keeping secrets wouldn’t be any better.

             “Yes.” Shiro admitted softly.

             “The resemblance is…uncanny.” Pidge responded quickly. “Maybe Zarkon thought to model you after a well-known war veteran and hero to humans, to help us feel safer?” In reality, Pidge was starting to doubt their own theories. They were beginning to sound more like _wishes_ rather than facts.

             Keith was silent for a few more moments. “Whatever happened to him?” He finally asked.

             “He died.” Shiro said, recalling the lesson of Akira in school.

             _“Akira was a hero and the greatest pilot we will ever see. None of you scoundrels will ever measure up to his ability.” Commander Iverson barked during a lecture. Shiro’s eyes were shining bright and his little body was practically vibrating with excitement upon learning about his hero. “His natural talent and ability alone were more than enough to put him at the top. But he was reckless.”_

_The entire class gasped upon hearing a teacher insult the war hero of Earth._

_“Akira was reckless, hot-tempered and that led to his death and the death of his entire team.” Iverson continued while eyeing every single child in the room. “Which is why you must follow the rules and respect them, lest you end up like Akira.”_

_The room was silent._

_That is, until Shiro nervously raised his hand._

_“Shirogane!” Iverson barked and Shiro shot out of his chair._

_“Sir, what happened to Akira?”_

_“He was killed. He’d barely been able to bring up Earth’s protection before he was blown up by the enemy, killing his team with him. His recklessness caused the death of his entire team, Galra and human including Sven Shirogane.”_

             “He and his team died protecting Earth forever. That’s why it’s our job to make sure Earth is safe so that his dream can live on. So that humans can return home again.” Shiro continued and Keith kept quiet.

             Keith was quiet for the remainder of the day and kept out of everyone’s way. Shiro was surprised to always see a thoughtful expression on Keith’s face and it made the droid look so very _human._

             Until the time came when everyone went to see the prisoner.

             Shiro was the first to speak as he slid the tablet over to Thace, who was glaring at all of them. Keith was behind everyone in the very back and he couldn’t be seen by Thace just yet.

             “What does the name Akira Kogane mean to you?” Shiro asked while Thace looked down at the tablet. His expression changed for only a second, and only Shiro had been able to witness it. His expression changed to that of relief before schooling into a blank slate.

             “He is nothing to me.”

             “That’s a lie.” Shiro barked and the others positioned themselves around the room to easily attack should they need to. Finally, Keith was in sight of Thace and his entire body tensed.

             “I do not know who this Akira Kogane is. He has been dead for almost a quarter of a millennium.” Thace scoffed and Shiro’s eyes narrowed.

             “We know how old you are _Thace._ You were alive when Akira was.” Shiro said slowly and he watched as Thace’s expression finally turned to a pinched expression. “You’ve been calling Keith Akira since the moment you saw him and they look very similar, don’t they? Now, I’ll ask one more time: _who. Is. Akira?”_

             Thace was silent, not even moving, for a few more seconds before he sighed heavily.

             “Yes. I knew Akira. We were on the same team.” Shiro could see that everyone wanted to chime in angrily and even he couldn’t believe the Galra. For all he knew, Thace was lying. _But why?_ “I and three other Galra were a part of his team. As were four other humans. One of which was your great grandfather.” At this, Thace looked directly at Shiro and Shiro had to hold his arm back from lighting up.

             The entire room’s temperature felt as if it had dropped 10 degrees.

             “What did you say?” Shiro asked through gritted teeth. _How could he know about my relation to Sven?_

             “I knew Sven and Akira. Along with the others. We were a team together for many years in the Galra and Human alliance.” Thace admitted softly. “We fought many battles together, defeated many foes. Akira was a remarkable pilot. No one in this universe could fly like he could.” Thace almost looked _happy_ as he spoke and Shiro felt sick.

             “We blindly followed Zarkon’s orders for many years, slaughtering Alteans and many other races that were deemed traitors. Some races you don’t even know about anymore because we killed every last one of them.” A haunted look overcame Thace’s face and everyone swallowed thickly. “We were fools to follow Zarkon as long as we did but it was Akira who was first to see that something was amiss. That everyone was not all that it seemed. He was the first to break away.”

             _“This is wrong.”_

_“What do you mean? Akira, are you feeling alright?”_

_“We’re mindless slaughtering innocent people. Can’t you see how wrong this is?”_

_“They’re traitors. We cannot let them live in case they hurt anyone else. Zarkon has commanded it and you know this.”_

_“Thace, but what if Zarkon is wrong?”_

_“What?”_

_“What if Zarkon is in the wrong. Not these people. Why are we fighting this war?”_

_“Because the Alteans kill us?”_

_“And if they’re just defending themselves?”_

_“Akira, are you honestly saying that the Galra started this war?”_

_“No. I don’t know. Maybe just Zarkon or maybe not. I don’t know but this feels wrong.”_

_“What do you want me to do?”_

“He defied Zarkon’s orders and rebelled. We soon realized our mistakes and the rest of his team rebelled with him.” Thace said.

             “You’re lying!” Lance finally shouted, hands clenched as fists at his sides. “Akira was a hero! He would never be a traitor like you!”

             “Akira was a hero.” Thace said without raising his voice. “He was a hero for rebelling against a tyranny that will stop at nothing until he murders or enslaves every creature in the universe. The enemy was never the Alteans but Zarkon.”

             “You’re lying to us.” Shiro hissed. His hands were shaking at his sides and his body was humming with anger. This Galra was defiling the name of Akira Kogane and stepping on it, right in front of them.

             “He’s not.” Everyone in the room blanched at the sudden announcement. Shiro’s entire body froze when Keith had spoken as his blood turned to ice. “Thace is not lying. Not about Akira and them rebelling against Zarkon. I can tell when a person is lying and Thace is _not.”_ Keith said slowly.

             “The fuck? You must be broken!” Lance growled. “Must have hit your head when you stupidly jumped into fucking space!”

             “It was necessary to protect you. It was not stupid.” It was Keith who was starting to get riled up for once.

             “It was an idiot move that almost killed us!”

             “I was protecting you!”

             “SHUT UP!” Shiro finally roared and the entire room stopped making any sort of noise. He turned quickly to Keith. “Are you lying to us? Are you a part of their game?!” Shiro barked and stalked towards Keith. Lance nervously moved away but Keith remained where he was standing.

             “I do not lie. Especially not to you.” Keith explained. “I am programmed to tell the truth and to protect the Paladins of Earth. Defenders of the Universe. I am at your command.” Shiro quickly grabbed the front of Keith’s space suit with his robotic hand.

             “I command you to tell me the truth. Is he lying?” Shiro whispered, eyes desperately seeking Keith’s for hope. The fire in him died a Keith’s next words.

             “Thace is not lying.”

             With that, Shiro numbly dropped Keith and didn’t move.

             “We protected Earth from Zarkon when we learned what he was planning on doing. Akira and the humans had figured out Zarkon’s real plans and we were all hunted by Zarkon.” Thace continued softly and still Shiro did not turn around. “Akira was one of the only people who could keep Earth protected. It was him and the humans who put the last shields of protection surrounding Earth. They didn’t tell a soul how to reverse it, nor us. But there was one who knew how to drop Earth’s shield’s other than Akira. Zarkon found out Akira’s plans and was furious at the betrayal. Especially when he learned that there were many Galrans who were against him. He sent a ship out to _kill_ Akira and his team. He killed them. Not the Alteans.”

             “How can we even believe you?” Shiro’s shoulders were shaking with fury, and yet there was a bit of fear in his voice as he spoke. His – and the others’ – world was being turned upside down all because of one traitorous Galra. “How do we even know that _you_ weren’t the ones who killed Akira and his team?”

             “Because we were a team. A family.” Thace finally said. “Akira was my captain and I was loyal to him and no one else. Surely you must understand the bond a team shares, Captain Shirogane?” Shiro’s fists clenched and his jaws tightened.

             “So what? Now we’re supposed to be inspired to jump aboard your ship and roll over? Do as you say?” Pidge spat bitterly. “In case you haven’t realized, we’re at _war._ Many humans are dead because of the Alteans.”

             “As are many Alteans. Especially after Earth’s alliance with the Galra.” Thace shot back.

             “And you expect us to believe that all Alteans were peaceful all along?” Lance rolled his eyes with a snort.

             “No.” Thace admitted. “Just as there are Galra who believe in Zarkon’s command and fight with him, there are Alteans who wish for the destruction of Galra. However, the Alteans did not _start_ this war. Zarkon did. By destroying planets.”

             “What planets has Zarkon destroyed?” Shiro asked quietly.

             “Altea for one.”

             “The Alteans don’t have a home planet. They live off the enslaved ones.” Lance said. Thace sighed heavily and shook his head.

             “That’s what Zarkon tells you. The Alteans had a home. A planet called Altea where they lived in peace and harmony. It was close to the Galran home planet and before Zarkon’s rule our people used to be very peaceful with one another. We lived in harmony and worked together. That changed when Zarkon came to power over a millennium ago. He sucked the life out of Altea and murdered innocents. That is what started the war. Your Earth came into play 500 years ago during the middle of war, unfortunately.”

             “You said you worked for Galra. How do you know that any of this is true?” Shiro asked skeptically. “What if you’ve been fed lies?”

             “Because I have seen the remains of Altea myself. And other planets that the Alteans _never_ visited.” Thace’s breath caught in his throat. Shiro felt a tightness in his own chest and his shoulders hunched. “Akira had me use my position and rank in the empire to get close to several of Zarkon’s head officers, including Sendak,” Just the name brought shivers down Shiro’s spine. “I learned all of Zarkon’s plans. How he plans to destroy and enslave every last living creature in the universe with him as the sole ruler of power.”

             “Zarkon will not stop until he has destroyed _everything.”_ Thace muttered. “Once he’s defeated the Alteans and captured the princess, your people will be next. He will murder every last human until you are nothing more than a memory.”

             The tension in the room was so thick that you could cut it with a knife. No one could move or even breathe.

             Shiro took a deep, shaky breath. “Why do you call Keith, Akira?”

             “Because,” Thace paused, trying to formulate his words as best as he could. “I don’t know what Zarkon has done or what horrors he is building now, but that droid you have is no droid. _Keith is Akira.”_

             Shiro looked up to glance back at Thace, but froze when he realized that Keith was no longer in the room with them. Instead, the door to the cell was wide open.

x.x.V.x.x

             _“Akira, this is your new team. You will lead a team mixed of humans and Galrans as the last defense of Earth.” The commander instructed him. His back was rigid and his entire body screamed perfection as he awaited his orders. “This is Sven Shirogane. Lancelot McClain. Piper Gunderson. Harry Samson. Thace Kugaloan. Ulaz Laquinze. Antonk Quintence and Kolivan Lumpter. Your duties are to perform the final protections of Earth, until it is safe for us to arrive and follow the supreme leader’s orders. Understood?”_

_“Yes commander!” He saluted and soon enough he was left alone with his team._

_“Well. It’s finally nice to meet the human that everyone seems so passionate about.” Kolivan smiled politely and he couldn’t help but grin. Despite having never met a Galra face to face before, this one seemed like fun. He had a good attitude and that was perfect for the team._

_“You’re puny. Especially the child.” Antok muttered, jerking a purple thumb at Piper. Immediately, Piper’s face heated up and she snarled._

_“Hey watch it fuzzball, these tiny hands could beat you in a fight.” Piper hissed._

_“I highly doubt that.”_

_“Okay, okay. That’s enough Antok. Humans are smaller than us but that’s not a bad thing at all.” The one called Thace said softly before turning to smile at him. “I apologize. This is our first time with humans on a team but we are excited to be a team. You’re obviously well above the skill of any humans for you to be on the special operations team with us.”_

_“Humans are full of surprises.” He grinned crookedly and Thace laughed._

_“I think we’ll all get along just perfectly.” Thace said._

_“I think so too.”_

             Keith’s head hurt. His body must be malfunctioning. _Was this what pain felt like?_ A quick scan showed no malfunctions in his system and that nothing had overheated. There was this _feeling_ that was building up within his body, like a sudden pressure after hearing Thace’s words.

             Keith had quietly excused himself from the room upon Thace’s ludicrous speech of Akira being him. Keith was a droid, built by Zarkon to defend the Paladins of Earth. He was built by the druids in Zarkon’s empire from scrap and programmed as K31T4.

             _Keith is Akira._

Akira was dead.

             However, he’d had these suddenly bright flashes over his eyes and images of people and moments that did not belong to him, pass over his eyes. He wondered if he had been programmed to see into others’ heads. Why else would he be seeing these images?

             Keith stared at his hands, one looking pale and textured like skin, with meticulous design and accuracy. The other was a sleek black metallic, capable of morphing into any weapon to defeat the enemy.

             When Keith tried to walk back towards the cell, he was stopped by a shrilling scream in his ears. The droid clutched his head, hunched over as the screaming continued.

             This time he saw flashes of red, (so, so much red) with bright lights and eyes staring down at him and dark rooms with robots and parts all over. He heard several screams from all different directions before the feeling of hands gripped and crawled all over Keith.

             The droid’s body jerked from the sensation as his system ran haywire.

             _“What have you done?!”_

_“What have you done?!”_

_“Help! Help! HELP!”_

“Keith?” Keith jumped, arm morphing into a familiar blade and he swung out, stopping the edge of the blade mere centimeters from another throat. Keith almost stumbled back upon seeing that he had almost attacked Paladin Shiro.

             “Paladin Shiro! I – I apologize. I did not mean to attack.” Keith yanked back his arm quickly and straightened his back until he was as straight as a board. Shiro blinked, momentarily afraid when Keith’s blade had come so close to his throat.

             So close to killing him.

             “It’s okay. I probably scared you, sneaking up from behind?” Shiro laughed awkwardly but Keith did not laugh back. Instead, his eyes only casted down to the floor.

             “I do not get scared. It is not in my program to get scared. I apologize and beg for your forgiveness.” Keith suddenly bowed, making Shiro feel more and more uncomfortable. Quickly, he pulled Keith upright and held onto his shoulder.

             “It’s alright. No need for that.” Shiro said under his breath, cursing at the blank expression on Keith’s face. He was beginning to hate that expression on Keith. _He’s not human._ “Keith, I have to ask. Is what Thace said true? Are – are you Akira?” Shiro had to swallow past the lump in his throat. His brain was still reeling uncomfortably from the words that Thace had said earlier but he had no time to panic. They would be arriving at Earth very soon.

             Keith opened his mouth to respond to the Black Paladin of Earth, that Thace was lying (even if he hadn’t felt it) but for the first time since his awakening, Keith found himself hesitating. And he didn’t know _why._ “No. I am K31T4, a droid built by Zarkon’s druids to serve as protections for the Paladins of Earth.” Keith said quickly. _I am not Akira,_ was hesitant on Keith’s lips and for some reason he found that he could not say this to Shiro. Not out loud.

             “Alright. Okay.” Shiro’s shoulders dropped as he heaved a sigh. “Okay. We’ll figure this out.” Shiro didn’t know whether to feel relieved or upset at Keith’s response. He couldn’t quite bring himself to believe Thace either, but there was more doubt creeping in Shiro’s body than ever before. Shiro gave Keith a smile that was weak, considering all of the brilliant smiles that he was capable of and began to head off. Only to be stopped by Keith.

             “But Shiro,” Keith started, causing Shiro to look back at the droid. “Thace wasn’t lying about the other stuff. About Akira defying and rebelling. About being part of the team. About…about Zarkon killing them.”

             “And you didn’t ever bother to tell any of us?” Shiro asked through gritted teeth. “All this time, you never once thought to mention that your _master_ was a murderer? That our symbol of heroism and peace is a _traitor?”_ Shiro hissed, and Keith flinched at his words.

             As in actually flinched.

             “Shiro – Paladin Shirogane,” Keith began after a sharp look from Shiro. “I have no knowledge of Zarkon’s intentions. None of which that weren’t programmed into my system! I can only tell that when Thace was speaking those words, they were the truth. I could tell he wasn’t lying. I have no prior knowledge of my… _master’s_ intentions in this war.”

             “You must have known something! He created you.” Shiro said and Keith swallowed.

             “To protect you. Nothing more and nothing less.” Keith argued quietly. “I hadn’t awakened until the day Lord Zarkon presented me to you. I had been awoken other times but I was rebooted and shutdown to be fixed and my memories start fresh with each reboot.”

             “So you really don’t know anything about Zarkon or Akira? You just as much in the dark as we all are.” Shiro scoffed quietly.

             “You’re winning this war. I’m here to help protect you as you do this.” Keith whispered and Shiro felt his heart aching all over again. The expression on Keith’s face was so lifelike – so, so real – and it hurt.

             “And what if we’re fighting the wrong war? What if we’re dying for nothing?” Shiro finally asked.

             “I don’t…”

             For a long while, Shiro could only stare at Keith as his emotions ran wild. He was conflicted, well, more than a little conflicted. He didn’t know if he wanted to believe Keith or lock him in a cell with Thace.

             “What use are you to us if you don’t know anything?” Shiro stated coldly. He knew that he had to leave before anything else happened, and with that he stormed out of the room leaving Keith behind. All the while, Shiro convinced himself that Keith would be okay. He was a droid after all.

             Droids didn’t get their feelings hurt.

             Droids could feel emotions.

             _Why had we even bothered?_

             Keith stared after the Black Paladin long after he left, with a heavy weight sitting on his chest. He clenched one hand on top of it worried that something was wrong with his respiratory system. Why else would he feel this heavy weight, as if cutting off his breathing _(but you don’t breathe, you don’t need to)_.

             Keith looked out the large windows to see the vast fields of stars in front of him, as he heard the sounds of screams again and images racing across his eyes. Familiar yellow eyes looked back at him and he felt something warm and wet drip down his cheek.

             Alarmed, Keith searched in his databases for an answer and came up with a surprising revelation.

             For the first time ever, a droid was crying.

x.x.V.x.x

How can you love me so?

How can you hurt me like so?

_It was never my intention._

x.x.V.x.x

             Alarms brought everyone out of their slump.

             For hours, everyone had been in their own pity party. Shiro had gone to the controls without saying a word to anyone, instead focused on finishing their mission. Pidge was still observing Thace, unable to take back their tablet when they saw Thace tracing over the image of Akira. Lance and Hunk were together but neither could say a word. _What could you say after something like that? After your whole world is turned upside down?_ Keith was still where he was staring at the dark, wet spots on the floor now, when the alarms blared.

             That sprung everyone to life and soon enough, everyone was back in the main control deck, even Pidge who was dragging a chained Thace behind them. Shiro ignored the prisoner momentarily as his team set out to figure out what the alarms meant.

             “What is it? Are we under attack?” Lance asked, already in position of one of their weapons.

             “No, no.” Pidge replied, typing madly at their computer. “It’s a location alarm. We must be at the location of where Earth is.”

             No one noticed Keith _and_ Thace walking slowly to the window with wide eyes. Everyone else still were frantically trying to figure out what was happening, when a large planet came into view. There was a sudden hush in the cabin as no one dared to breathe.

             Their ship slowly moved closer and closer to an unfamiliar planet as it came into their orbit. Lance could feel any jokes or words dying on his tongue immediately and a lump settled in his throat. Hunk swallowed, nervously fiddling with his gloves in awe. Pidge’s glasses slid down their nose and Shiro almost let go of the controls with shock.

             Before them was a mostly brown planet. There were bits of blue and white clouds scattered all over it. It was bigger than any planet that they had seen before, even a Balmera. It was beautiful and stole their breaths away. It was like gazing at the stars for the first time as a child, with that child-like wonder bursting from their fingertips.

             They had arrived.

             They were at Earth.

             And yet…

             “I thought it would be, um, greener?” Lance finally admitted. “Why is it so brown?” The others all frowned, having the same thought but not having the courage to speak up. They were all a bit _disappointed_ and not as in awe as they had thought upon arriving to Earth. Still, everyone was on edge.

             “Well, it hasn’t been inhabited by humans for over 200 years.” Pidge coughed quietly. “I’m sure it has to change in order to evolve the sudden departure.”

             “Still, I thought I’d feel more…” Hunk trailed off quietly, feeling awful for his lack of excitement.

             “Excited? Wondrous? Happy?” Lance supplied and ignored the glare from Shiro.

             “Guys, maybe this isn’t what we expected but this is – this is Earth.” Shiro said. Though he was surprised by Earth’s appearance, he was still determined to be excited. No one had seen Earth in so long, and Shiro had _dreamed_ of seeing the planet that humans once had called home. To see the home that he had never set foot on before.

             All the while, Keith and Thace stared at the planet and Keith felt a familiar weight settle on his chest. He then found his gaze traveling towards the small moon beside Earth rather than looking at Earth. The pounding in his head returned and his vision turned white.

             _Flashes of a blue planets with luscious green continents came into view, with clouds so white and so large they covered many large parts of the surface._

_“We cannot let anyone find Earth. Should anything happen.” He announced to his team. Around him were four familiar humans, all nodding in agreement. The planet was getting further and further away and his chest was growing tighter and tighter._

_Why do we have to leave?_

_We must keep it safe._

_We will return._

_If not me, then someone will._

_Earth is not lost._

_“That’s why we had Ulaz create that pocket dimension.” A tall man of Swedish descent murmured softly and he nodded with a sigh. Their home was still getting further and further away, the closer they got to a gray moon._

_“Exactly. We must hide Earth from any unwanted visitors.” He answered._

_The beautiful blue planet flashed out of sight and suddenly it was replaced by an ugly brown one. It was so ugly and dead. This was nothing like their home. This was wrong, and that was why it was perfect. He stared longingly at the planet, as a familiar shield encased the original planet and they began to travel away from their disguised home._

_“We must protect Earth. For all those who will return. Zarkon will not win this war.”_

             Keith stumbled when the images stopped racing through his mind. He hadn’t realized that he was clutching his head until Thace reached out to steady his elbow. Keith blinked rapidly, unable to comprehend by his system was malfunctioning to the point that he was seeing these false images.

             But yet, they had felt so real. So very real.

             Keith stared hard at the moon, unable to rid himself of the heavy weight on his chest.

             “We should head closer to the planet and see how it’s protected.” Shiro announced and Keith looked over to see the whole team gathering near Shiro.

             “Roger. Setting coordinates to planet Earth. Heading in as we speak.” Lance announced, ready to take control again.

             “That’s no Earth.” Keith found himself whispering before he could stop himself. For once, he felt like he could _breathe_ , like everything wasn’t forcing him down or forcing him a certain way. He felt lighter…freer and he didn’t know why.

             “What? What are you talking about mullet-head?” Lance snorted and Shiro’s grip tightened on his controls. Even Pidge and Hunk laughed in amusement. “This is your first time to Earth, and it’s ours too, but this is Earth. Amazing isn’t it?”

             “It’s not quite what we’ve all expected but this is home.” Pidge smiled again.

             “No.” Keith murmured softly, unaware that he was speaking out of turn. “That’s not Earth. You’re headed in the opposite direction. You must head 23 degrees North.” The others were confused by Keith’s actions but Pidge calculated the direction and frowned.

             “Keith, that’s the moon.” They announced. “It’s part of Earth’s system but it’s just a moon. Like Kerberos.”

             “It’s not. Not really.” Keith continued, as Thace began to realize what was happening. His heart hammered in his chest as he stared at the Akira look-alike.

             “Keith, that’s enough.” Shiro finally commanded coldly. “We have located Earth. We must report back to base.”

             “But that’s not Earth!” Keith hadn’t realized that he had shouted until the others were out of their seats. It was four facing him and Thace. “It’s an illusion. A trick to defend against enemies! You’re headed into nothing.”

             “How would you know?” Lance asked.

             “Enough! I command you to stop with these lies.” Shiro barked before Lance could continue and Keith almost jumped back. However, instead his eyes narrowed and his lips curled back.

             “I have never once lied to you, Black Paladin of Earth.” Keith spat hotly, surprising not only the Paladins but also Thace. Thace had seen that hot temper before and that fire. Long ago but it was still familiar. “I am unable to lie to any of you. It’s incompatible with my system. I have never lied before and I am not lying now. Whether you believe me or not, _that_ is not Earth.” Keith pointed towards the brown planet that they were currently headed towards but said no more.

             He and Shiro locked into a heated glaring contest while the others nervously tried to back away.

             “Shiro? What do we do?” Hunk asked softly. Eventually, Shiro managed to tear his eyes away from Keith in order to take in the sight of Earth. In all honesty, his gut had been denying Earth’s presence. Something had felt off from the moment that they arrived but Shiro couldn’t figure out what.

             “Shiro?” Pidge asked and Shiro felt his heart ache again.

           _They were so young._

             He was in charge of them. Of their hopes and dreams. Of their lives.

           _They were too young_.

             _So very young._

             “Shiro?” This time it was Lance and Shiro had to look away from their pleading eyes and he looked back at Keith who was standing rigidly by the window, looking back at the moon rather than Shiro. _I have never once lied to you._ That was true.

             “Lance, set our coordinates 23 degrees North.” Shiro finally said and Keith snapped his head back towards Keith so hard it looked like it would have hurt any human.

           _He’s not human._

             “But Shiro! That’s the moon!” Pidge exclaimed, earning a tired look from Shiro. No one had yet to do as Shiro had said.

             “I know Pidge, but do as I say.” Shiro commanded tiredly. “Keith hasn’t failed us yet. Why would he start now?”

             At those words, Keith felt like his chest and his throat were tightening. As if his system was short circuiting and not enough power was running through his body. Those familiar wet _tears_ came to his eyes and one trailed down his cheek, missed by Shiro and the other Paladins. But it did not go missed by Thace.

             Their ship turned suddenly, now heading away from the brown planet and towards the tiny moon. Silence and unease filtered through the cabin as they came closer and closer to the moon. Their hearts hammered in their chests, preparing for impact when the moon got even closer to them. Regrets filled their minds and disbelief the closer yet the moon got.

             Closer and closer.

             Closer.

             Closer.

             _Closer._

             Just as they were right on top of the moon, the entire world shifted and swirled around them and everyone gripped their seats tightly. Then where the moon once was, there was a planet.

             A blue, blue planet with lots of green and white.

             A beautiful, blue planet full of life and activity.

             A planet none of them had ever seen before.

             A planet inhabited by humans.

             Their home.

             Earth.

             Everyone aboard the ship was too stunned to speak or move. This time, there was a feeling of awe and longing. Everyone could feel that emptiness in their hearts filling up with hope and love. Their jaws dropped and their eyes widened. This was what home felt like.

             “Earth. This…this is Earth.” Pidge said suddenly.

             “It’s so…so blue.” Lance whispered. “There’s so much water – it’s so blue.”

             “And the clouds. They’re like little marshmallows.” Hunk almost squealed.

             “It’s so big.” Shiro was in awe at the sight of the planet before him.

             Keith and Thace both remained silent. Thace, more so due to the fact that he was reminiscing to the last time that he had seen the planet. Before everyone had evacuated it. He was lost to his own thoughts, while Keith stared at the Paladins.

             They had all moved from their stations buzzing with their own version of joy. Lance was whooping and hollering happily, dragging a reluctant (but grinning) Pidge around in an awkward dance. Hunk was dabbing at his eyes as he cried. Shiro was grinning softly and laughed at his team’s antics. They all looked so carefree. Looking at them like this made Keith feel lighter, and his stomach felt fluttery as if – _oh, and now did he understand –_ a bunch of butterflies had been let loose in his stomach.

           _This was happiness._

             Keith finally understood.

             It was then that Shiro turned to look Keith in the eye and the droid was frozen where he stood. Silently and slowly, Shiro made his way towards Keith, expression unreadable until he stopped just inches away from Keith. Then, without a word, he scooped Keith into his arms and hugged him tightly while Keith stood limply in Shiro’s arms.

             “Thank you.” Shiro finally said, while Keith remained limp. Keith’s mind was whirling as he tried to find an answer to what Shiro was doing. Something deep inside Keith informed him that this was a _hug_. It was what many species did.

             _Hug._

             “What? What is this?” Keith finally asked softly.

             Shiro’s entire body trembled with soft laughter as he pulled away for a moment. When he pulled away, Keith could see that Pidge, Lance and Hunk had all joined Shiro smiling broadly at him. “It’s a called a hug. It’s what we do when we are thankful.” Shiro said gently, when Lance suddenly latched onto him.

             “Keith’s first hug! I want a part of this!” He announced, squeezing Keith tighter than necessary. Immediately, Pidge and Hunk both whined and latched onto Keith and Lance.

             “Hey, no fair! I want in too!” Hunk yelled as he tightened the hug.

             “Me too! Move over Lance. Stop hogging the droid!” Pidge hissed but held onto the three of them as tight as they could.

             Keith blinked, stunned by their actions as that warm feeling returned inside of him. _Happiness._ It was that feeling of happiness returned and Keith didn’t want to let go. He stared at Shiro who was laughing at his team, before slowly Keith raised shaking arms to return the hug.

_This was a hug._

             The butterflies were never going away.

             “Dude, how did you do that?” Lance asked, eyes bright and sparkling. He couldn’t stop staring between Keith and the planet in front of them. Keith had been aware that the Blue Paladin of Earth had been full of life, but he hadn’t quite realized how Lance’s eyes would shine with excitement or how his cheeks would get rosy.

             “Yeah? Did you scan the area and find the pocket? If so that’s incredible, and genius of whoever hid Earth.” Pidge adjusted their glasses with a wide grin and Keith notice for the first time how the freckles on Pidge’s face would scrunch up when they smiled or how they had a dimple on their left cheek.

             “This is so cool. Can you believe it? We’re all going to be the first people to see Earth in a long time all thanks to you.” Hunk beamed at Keith and gave him a gentle pat on the back. Keith could see how soft Hunk’s eyes were and how gentle he was despite being a fierce soldier of the empire.

             Keith swallowed, unable to hide the smile on his face. He could see Shiro’s relieved and apologetic smile sent his way.

             _“I’m sorry.”_ Shiro had mouthed but Keith could only nod mutely.

             “Well, no. I didn’t scan it. I had a feeling.” Keith admitted softly, gazing back at the planet in front of them. He could feel everyone turning their confused gazes on him and he swallowed. “I saw it. Earth. I saw someone leaving it behind; talking about protecting it so someone could return. I saw Earth and I saw the moon and once I had traveled to the moon, the Earth disappeared into that dirty planet we saw earlier. I don’t know how or why but, _I saw it.”_

             Keith was afraid to look at anyone else’s expression, in case he would see the worst.

             It was surprising that it was Thace who spoke up. Almost everyone had forgotten the prisoner. “What else did you see? Was there anyone that you saw?” Keith looked up, seeing an earnest expression on Thace’s face.

             “I – I saw others. Humans. They were traveling with me, away from Earth.” Keith admitted, unable to face his team’s eyes. “I saw Sven Shirogane. And the rest of his team.”

             _A flash of light._

_A harsh rumble._

_“Do you think we’ll ever go back?” He looked away from the disguised Earth to stare at the familiar face of Sven. The others were already preparing to hide and run. There was no doubt that Zarkon would have word of their rebellion and he could only pray that everyone would make it to safety._

_He sighed. “I don’t know Sven. I hope, deep in my heart, that I can see those blue skies again and roaring oceans. But…if that meant destroying all hope of returning, than I would never set foot on Earth again.”_

_“I’ll miss it. My wife will miss it. My daughter hasn’t been able to witness it.” Sven whispered._

_“I hope she does get to see what we have lived. If not she, then your grandson or your great grandson. One day, they will be able to return and live as we had.” He replied before looking back at the window. “One day.”_

_Keith was aware of this memory happening as it replayed in his head. And as he turned to look back out the window, he could see a reflection looking back at him._

_And in the reflection stood Keith, exactly as he was, staring back at Akira._

“I was here before.” Keith whispered, so softly that the others almost hadn’t been able to hear it. His violet eyes were slightly glazed over and his body was hunched over from the force of the images in his mind. Shiro and his team were on high alert at first signs of seeing Keith to be in what looked like to be, pain.

             “Keith? Keith?” Keith blinked, feeling what one would call to be weary, in that moment and was startled to see how close Shiro and the others were to him. Especially Thace.

             “Akira?” Thace finally asked and Keith looked at him with a heavy chest.

             “I was there. How? How was I there, when I am here now? How?” Keith whispered tightly and he realized that this was what _fear_ felt like. This was panic and fear.

             “Because you _are_ Akira.” Thace breathed and Keith panicked. He flailed, trying to get away from Thace, as his entire body was screaming in panic. His chest was too tight and his head was pounding. His breathing was labored _(you don’t need to breathe; why are you breathing?)_. His eyes were wide as moisture gathered in them _(why does a robot cry?)_.

             “I’m not. I’m not.” Keith babbled suddenly. “I’m K31T4. I am a droid built by the druids of Zarkon. I am entrusted to protect the Paladins of Earth.”

             “You are Akira Kogane.” Thace stated more firmly, yanking on his own chains and Keith panicked again. “You were the number one pilot in the Garrison from Earth. You were the leader of the original team Voltron, rebellion against Zarkon.”

             “I’m not. I’m not. I can’t be. I can’t.” Keith said over and over again.

             “You _are!_ I don’t know how or what Zarkon has done to you but you are Akira. You are my captain. My friend.” Thace pleaded desperately, and Keith fought to back away from him. Suddenly there wasn’t enough space nor room. There wasn’t anywhere for him to go to. Nowhere to run to.

             “I’m not. I’m not.” Keith said again.

             “Akira…”

             “I AM NOT AKIRA!” Keith suddenly roared. His eyes flashed from their brilliant violet color to a deep crimson red. The arm at his side was raised and ready to fire, as the tip of a blaster was formed and directed right at Thace. His lips curled back in a snarl. “I. Am. Keith.”

             No one moved an inch.

             No one spoke.

             Nothing made a noise, other than Keith’s harsh breathing.

             “You are Keith.” Shiro finally said, and Keith flinched before aiming the barrel of the gun at Shiro. Instantly, Shiro’s hands were up in a defensive manner as he crept closer to Keith. “You’re Keith. A Paladin of Earth, just like us. Not Akira. Not K31T4. But Keith. Our Keith.” The barrel of the gun trembled as Shiro inched closer to Keith and everyone held their breath. Although, they were more shocked by the tears building up in Keith’s eyes and the way his lower lip trembled.

             _How does a droid cry?_

             Shiro stepped closer and closer until he could touch Keith’s arm. Upon seeing the last of the tears finally start to spill over Keith’s eyes and down his cheeks, Shiro felt his heart sinking. The gun slowly morphed back into a metallic hand that continued to shake, until Keith’s eyes returned back to their usual color.

             “You’re Keith.” Shiro said again and Keith’s lip trembled. “No one else but Keith.”

             With that, Keith threw his arms around the Black Paladin of Earth and _cried._


	4. Keith

What is this feeling?

_It is sadness._

Make it go away.

_There can always be happiness found after such sadness._

x.x.V.x.x

             “You have brain waves.” Pidge mumbled awkwardly. They looked up from their tablet to where the droid _(or not?)_ was currently sitting on an examination table. Keith looked exhausted, face full of emotions that were unusual for his face. It had only been a matter of weeks, and yet Keith looked more human than Pidge could have ever imagined. Though, maybe that last part was more real than they all thought.

             “What?” It was Lance who finally spoke up.

             “He has brain waves. _Human_ brain waves.” Pidge replied softly. “I don’t know why I didn’t scan him as soon as we got it. For god’s sake we could have figured this out all long before all this shit happened. Not after a mission from Zarkon and the fate of Earth resting in our hands!”

             “Pidge!” Shiro clamped both of his hands on Pidge’s shoulders to steady them. “What does this mean?”

             “Keith isn’t a droid!”

             “What?!” Hunk practically screeched. If everyone was being honest, they were _all_ expecting Pidge to say that but hearing it out loud made the severity of the situation all the worse.

             “A robot or droid would have no brain waves because they have no brain.” Pidge swallowed back the urge to vomit. “Humans and _living_ creatures all have brain waves and Keith has them too. If he were – if he weren’t alive, _like a droid_ , he wouldn’t have any brain waves. But look.” Pidge turned the tablet so that everyone else could see what they were looking at.

             And sure enough there were brain waves. Moving and changing in real time.

             Pidge saw Keith looking at the tablet curiously, so they slid the tablet into Keith’s numb hands. Keith blinked again and stared down at the tablet before tracing over the waves with trembling fingers.

             “Are you saying that – that Keith is alive?” Lance whispered hoarsely. Pidge opened their mouth to speak only to be cut off by Shiro.

             “Pidge you need to be 100% positive before you answer Lance’s question.” Shiro finally stated firmly. “If you answer that question one way, then you are putting the entire Galra Empire on accusation of something criminal and vile. You cannot go back on your word if this is even the _tiniest_ bit false. Are you positive?”

             Pidge closed their mouth and swallowed thickly. The severity of the situation was much more severe than they had originally thought, but that didn’t change the facts.

             “Yes. I can, without a doubt, say that Keith is _not_ a droid.” Pidge squared their shoulders and nodded without hesitation. Shiro’s entire body deflated in realization. “Keith is human.”

             “Oh my god. Oh my god.” Hunk cupped his hand over his mouth and Lance’s face turned paler than anyone thought possible.

             “Oh god. I’m gonna throw up. This isn’t happening.” Lance mumbled through clenched teeth.

             “Pidge, what does this mean?” Shiro spoke around the lump growing in his throat. All the while, Keith remained silent and motionless. _What was he thinking about?_

             “Keith has a brain. He has skin.” Pidge said quickly, still examining Keith. “His skin is connected to microcellular organisms containing his DNA, that can quickly harden or repair his skin but the original cells of these organisms originated from skin cells. His brain is normal and encased in a harder shell, most likely to protect it from any damage. His entire left side of his body is made of muscle tissues, skin cells, veins, arteries, well you name it. But all are biomechanically engineered to be stronger, faster and better than the average person. However, his entire right side is complete mechanical. His arm is a robotic replacement as is his leg, both of which are capable of altering their molecules to change shape and matter. His hips and ribs are also mechanical, for better protection, and his heart…his heart is electrical. There is no beating heart within him.”

             “Oh my god. Oh my god.”

             “So he’s human but engineered?” Shiro asked, feeling sick to his stomach.

             Pidge nodded solemnly. “Most likely to be better enhanced, and to be _programmed._ He has chips and memory disks within him, with programs to wiring his system. From his nervous system to his heart, to the connection to his brain and even to his legs, they rely on simple programming chips in his chest and back. With this, anyone can control him with a little hardwiring.”

             “Oh shit. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. I’m going to throw up.” Lance moaned and nearly backed into the wall behind them.

             Shiro felt the air leaving his lungs all at once.

             _Keith was alive._

_Keith was alive and they had treated him as a slave._

_Keith was alive._

_Alive._

_Alive._

_Alive._

             “Oh fuck. Oh fuck. Oh fuck.”

             “Do you understand what this means? Now do you understand that you’ve been fighting the wrong war all alone?” Thace’s voice was like nails on a chalkboard after speaking up. Everyone flinched at the cold, bitterness in Thace’s voice. “Zarkon is creating mindless droids to bend at his mercy and will. He will enslave every last one of you just as he had Ak – Keith.”

             “How is this even possible?” Lance asked shakily.

             “Zarkon’s witch: Haggar.” Thace muttered darkly. “She has been experimenting on prisoners and slaves since Zarkon’s first ruling. She does not care if they die or live. She only cares to succeed in her experiments.”

             “She must wipe the victim’s memories.” Pidge rubbed their chin.

             “She represses them. Steals them.” Keith spoke up, startling everyone else in the room. “Those images I see. They’re flashbacks. She hasn’t succeeded in wiping memories completely. This must have happened to me before.” His eyes never left the tablet and everyone shared a look with one another as he wasn’t looking.

             “Your glitches.” Hunk’s whispered tightly. Everyone else felt the temperature of the room drop another ten degrees. “That must be what Zarkon meant by glitches. Maybe you were starting to remember again. Are you remembering now? Are there specific memories you have? Where exactly is Zarkon conducting these experiments? Haggar must be with Zarkon, right? We saw here, when he delivered you to us that day.”

             “No.” Keith said sharply. “I don’t remember anything. There are just glimpses of memories. Sometimes I see flashes of images – or memories that must have happened in the past. I still don’t remember anything about…Akira.” Keith still couldn’t bring himself to call him by that name. Whether or not he was Akira, that was no longer who he was. It wasn’t who he could be.

             “But there are others. Like me.” Keith decided then to drop another bomb. Hunk covered his face with his hands, his entire body trembled. Lance was muttering a Spanish prayer under his breath as he tightly gripped pieces of his hair. Pidge’s jaw had dropped and they nearly dropped their tablet. Shiro was rigid and his face was tense, and Thace was unable to even look up from the floor.

             “How do you know?” Thace asked.

             Keith frowned and eventually looked up from the tablet. Everything was still fuzzy and hurt so much, but for the first time ever he felt lighter and like he could breathe. It was as if a layer of dead skin had been pulled back and his body was feeling the sun and air for the first time.

             “I hear screaming. Sometimes I can hear others screaming. I think I can hear myself screaming a lot,” Everyone in the room felt sick at Keith’s words. “But I hear others sometimes. And I see flashes of bodies and people over me.”

             “You’re not the only one. Oh shit, shit, shit, _shit.”_ Lance was about to pull his hair out of his head.

             “He’s building an army.” Shiro realized and his vision darkened for a brief second. He almost fell over, if it wasn’t for his stamina and the training that had been beaten into him.

             “This is really happening? Zarkon’s taking prisoners and brainwashing them into mindless robots to build an army?” Hunk whimpered. He was met with silence but that was enough of an answer to him.

             Their whole lives had been a lie.

             This whole war was a lie.

             People had _died,_ all for a lie.

             Zarkon was a lie.

             _SLAM!_

             Everyone jumped at the sound of Shiro slamming his fist into the nearest wall. The metal of the wall crunched under impact and some wires sparked around the robotic hand. Shiro’s eyes were wide with fury.

             “He used us. They all _used_ us. Like pawns.” Shiro said quietly but did not move from his current position.

             “Shiro?” Lance whispered.

             “He used us. All of us. Even his own people. He used them!” Shiro’s voice was slowly rising with every sentence. “He killed _millions_ of creatures. Millions of humans! He decimated the Alteans! And all for what? The glory of war?!” Shiro pulled his arm back, only to slam it into the wall once more. This time, wires poked out of small cracks in the wall, and more sparks rained on his hand.

             “He killed good men. Women and children too. _We_ killed them. _I_ killed them.” Shiro said, breathing ragged. “I killed them all. He used me like a weapon. He used us all. I killed them. I killed them. _He made me kill them!”_ Shiro’s eyes blazed and his arm pulled back once more, this time with more force than before.

             However, before his hand made contact with the wall, it was stopped by another hand. One made of a similar build and material, only sleeker and black. Shiro’s eyes wildly found Keith, looking up at him with a look of concern.

             _Shiro couldn’t see Keith’s face. All he could see were yellow eyes trained on him. All he could feel was pain. Pain. Pain. So much pain. It was agonizing. The faces of what he thought to be Altean were slowly morphing into faces that were purple, covered in fur and with teeth glistening in the light. He couldn’t catch his breath to scream. His arm was gone – where was his arm? Where was it? Why did it hurt so much? I’m not human. I’m a weapon. I’m dangerous. Make it stop. Make it stop._

_MAKE._

_IT._

_STOP._

             Shiro did scream and he tried to jerk back his arm. Keith didn’t release Shiro’s hand, nor did he flinch at Shiro’s scream. Instead, he stepped forward and grabbed Shiro’s other arm.

             “Paladin Shiro.” Keith said quietly. Still Shiro tried to retract his arm as another scream built in his throat. “Shiro. Shiro,” The scream was on the tip of his tongue, but Shiro paused momentarily and Keith smiled at him. “Shiro. You’re not like me. You’re human. You have a heartbeat, right here. Can you feel it?”

             Keith guided Shiro’s flesh hand to his chest where he could feel the rapid beating of his heart. Wild and loud in Shiro’s chest, but alive and beating. For a reason that even Shiro didn’t know, this did the trick. Soon enough, Shiro’s breathing was back under control. His hands were no longer trembling and his mind had cleared up. He could see Keith’s face in front of him. He could hear his team surrounding him and Shiro swallowed heavily.

             “Keith…”

             Keith moved away before Shiro could say another word. “There are others. Zarkon has them hostage. If he figures out how to completely control us…” Keith’s fists clenched at his sides and his eyes hardened. “There will be no stopping this war.”

             Silence etched on.

             “What are we supposed to do?” Lance asked eventually. Everyone looked at him curiously. “Fuck. We were just about go on a suicide mission to lower Earth’s defenses this morning, and now we realize that our leader is a supreme-mega psychopath who is brainwashing humans and turning them into his personal toys.” Lance ignored Keith’s flinch. “And we’re probably the _only_ ones against Zarkon who knows his real plans.”

             “No, the Alteans are against him. And we have Thace’s team.” Hunk pointed out.

             “The Blade of Marmora.” Thace supplied.

             “Do you really think the Alteans will take time to listen to us? The _murderers_ of their king?” Lance scoffed bitterly. “We decimated their king. I don’t think even the princess would listen to us. They’ll probably kill us faster than Zarkon if he figures out we know.”

             “Fuck. What about Earth?” Pidge asked. “What if Zarkon wants us to locate Earth so _he_ knows where it is? We can’t lower the defenses now!”

             “Then what do we do?” Lance threw up his hands in the air and slumped down on the floor. “We can’t take on Zarkon alone. We can’t convince the remaining Alteans to help us. We can’t return to Earth, and goddammit, I just want to go home!”

             No one knew what to say to Lance. He sounded just like a lost little kid in that moment, and in reality, that’s exactly what he was. He was a _kid._ They all were. They weren’t suited for this war.

             “Should we hide?” Hunk eventually asked quietly and everyone almost jumped at the suggestion. It sounded like giving Zarkon a victory.

             “And just give up?” Pidge whispered, tears brimming in their eyes. _Give up, after all they had sacrificed and lost? Give up when Matt and Dad had died for nothing?_

             “What else are we supposed to do, _Katie?!”_ Lance snarled. “We can’t win. Not this. We were never meant to be soldiers.”

             How could anyone argue with that. It was the truth.

             “I can’t.” Keith was the only one to speak. “I can’t do nothing.”

             “Keith, we can’t –”

             “Maybe you can’t,” Keith glared sharply at Shiro and Lance. “But I can. I’m part of this war. If I was Akira, and those _bastards_ did this to me, I can’t let them win. Not while I am able to remain in control and save others. No one deserves to lose their minds like I did – like I have. I’m not Akira. Akira died when Zarkon cut me open and did this to me. But I got a second chance, thanks to you. It was because of you that I came back.”

             _“You all are my second chance. A second chance at doing something good for once in my life. You’re my team. My home. My family.”_

             “You gave me my name; you taught me how to express myself. You showed me _happiness_ and now that I’ve reached it again, I can’t ever let go.” Keith took a deep breath, fists still clenched. “You’re my team. My home. My family. You chose the name Keith for me, and I’ve chosen to live by it and start anew.”

             _“Zarkon is coming after me. He will kill me as soon as he finds me. You must protect the princess. Keep her safe. She and you are the keys to retrieving Earth when it is safe.”_

_“Akira! This is madness, you don’t have to do this.”_

_“I do. Please, keep our home safe. One day Thace, you will visit it and see what we have seen. My team and I are prepared for this. Let us do this one last thing for Earth.”_

             “The princess is the key to Earth’s defenses. She must know something.” Keith said while rubbing his chin. “She never saw my face, which was why she didn’t recognize me on our earlier encounter. Find her and the Blade of Marmora if you wish to keep Earth protected,” Slowly, Keith began to make his way out of the room with his head held high.

             Shiro reached after him. “Keith, where are you going?”

             Keith paused only to turn around. “I’m going to stop Zarkon.”

x.x.V.x.x

My name is Keith. I finally know who I am.

Thank you for finding me.

x.x.V.x.x

             Piloting had always felt unusually natural for Keith, ever since he was first allowed to fly the Paladins. However, seating in the captain’s seat of the ship, Keith never felt more at home than he did in that moment. His body automatically readied itself for flying and his brain remembered every detail he needed to know about flying. It all came back to him as natural as someone’s ability to walk.

             However, as Keith glanced back behind him, he couldn’t help but smile upon knowing he wasn’t _alone._ Behind him stood a team, made up of the Four defenders of the Universe and an original Blade of Marmora member.

             It was his team.

             “Ready when you are, Captain.” Shiro smiled, as he put his hand on Keith’s shoulder.

             “Stop, you’re going to give him a big head.” Lance whined from his own cockpit. Keith felt a snarky glare overcame his face. “I don’t see why I couldn’t have been the captain. The dude’s been flying for a week.”

             “Actually, I’ve been a pilot for over 200 years, _Lance._ I just haven’t flown a ship in a while.” Keith rolled his eyes and Pidge didn’t bother to hide their laughter. Lance pouted in his seat, with Hunk trying to reassure him. “Besides, how hard can it be?”

             Flying with Keith…was like riding a rollercoaster. A very, very, very _fast_ rollercoaster. Everyone held onto their stations for dear life as the ship exploded with speeds they hadn’t even imagined before. The ship twisted and turned against any oncoming asteroids, planets, debris or anything coming right at them. Keith would maneuver at the last second.

             Hunk was complaining about needing to throw up, while Lance was screaming and clutching his seat tightly.

             Pidge was cheering while desperately holding themselves in their ships, and Shiro was just trying to keep himself upright but he couldn’t hide the grin on his face. _This wasn’t Akira Kogane’s flying skills, this was all Keith._

             The only one who seemed somewhat not disturbed by the flying was Thace.

             “Let’s see. It should be here somewhere.” Keith muttered, glancing around the ship’s control panel. He let his eyes wander away from the window in front of them as the ship jerked to avoid an asteroid belt.

             “Holy – _oh my god_ , Keith eyes on the road! The road!” Lance screeched when he noticed Keith wasn’t even paying attention.

             “Road? There’s no roads where we are going.” Keith shrugged, maneuvering over a ship coming their way. Lance screeched again.

             “Did you just make a reference from the 1980s?!” Lance hissed. “That was like 600 years ago!”

             “And yet, you knew it.” Keith said, still looking across the control panel. The ship jerked again.

             “Keith!”

             “Aha! Here we go. Everyone hold on tight.” Keith beamed frighteningly.

             “Oh no, no, no, no. Keith don’t you dare!” Lance yelled.

             “Please Keith! I want to live.” Hunk pleaded.

             “What’s happening?” Pidge asked with a wide grin.

             “Keith?” Shiro asked, slightly afraid to see what Keith was planning. Keith only grinned at him _(look at how natural that smile is on him; where was it hidden?)._

             “Do you trust me?” Keith asked. Without hesitation Shiro nodded and Keith then flipped a switch. In a second, a dark blue portal opened up in front of them and Keith flew the ship directly into it, ignoring the screams from behind him and in a flash of light they were gone.

             In another second, they were in total darkness and it took everyone a few minutes to realize that they were not moving any longer.

             “Holy f –” Lance began only for a cold hand to clamp over his mouth. His eyes widened when all he could see where a pair of red eyes glowing right in front of him.

             “Shh.” Keith commanded softly. “We’re aboard Zarkon’s ship. Eventually he’ll realize we’re aboard. Let’s try to keep quiet until then.” The eyes flashed away and the hand removed itself from Lance’s mouth. He was frozen on the floor (whether from fear or relief, Lance did not know) until he heard the sound of a door opening and a light poured into the ship. Upon realizing he was still the last one on the ship, Lance scrambled after his team into the empty hanger.

             Everyone crowded around Keith as he peered around the corner of the hallway. “They’re here. This is where I was _created._ I can feel it.” Keith whispered, shuttering at the sterile and cold feeling of the ship. It felt lifeless and empty, full of darkness.

             “The others are here?” Shiro asked quietly, eyeing a guard walking past them down the hallway.

             “Yes.” Keith murmured. “I think.”

             “Now isn’t the time to think.” Lance muttered under his breath. He huffed when Pidge shoved their elbow in his ribcage. “Okay, sorry. Sorry, sheesh.”

             “Where do we go?” Shiro asked. Keith swallowed, eyes darting around the hallway. _Left._ Without saying a word, Keith began heading towards the left hallway listening to his instincts. He continued to follow each direction silently, as the others followed him, never once questioning his thoughts.

             At last they reached a dark room. It was only light by an electrical center cylinder, with electricity traveling up and down it all along the sides. The room felt much colder and darker than anything else on the ship. Keith almost hesitated entering the room, as flashes of images raced over his eyes. He could hear the screaming again, all around him, and the sound of his own screaming. He could see himself wheeled through this very room, with big yellow eyes staring at him. He could feel electricity burning his skin until there was nothing left. It left him winded and stumbling back into Hunk.

             “This is the room. Where they would experiment on me. This is where I was made.” Keith said breathlessly. Suddenly the room felt a whole lot colder than it actually was. No one moved, until Keith took a small step into the room. With a shake of his head, he walked more confidently down the aisle and soon enough the others were following after him. As they walked further and further into the room, the electrical center sent waves of electricity throughout the room, lighting up every inch of the room for a brief second.

             That was when they saw _them._

             Tubes and tubes full of bodies.

             There were tubes stacked high off the ground, going hundreds of feet up and expanding all the way past the central electrical unit in the room. Tubes and tubes full of dark bodies that light up when electricity pulsed past them.

             One particular test tube unit lit up right beside them, and everyone was frozen to the ground upon seeing the shape of a body floating in the water. It wasn’t hooked up to any wires or tubes as they would have expected in the tube. Upon another pulse of light, they could see that both arms were missing and both les had been replaced by a metal similar to Keiths.

             Upon the next pulse of light, everyone could see the gaping hole in the person’s chest, and the hole in its head.

             Where it’s heart and brain should have been.

             But none were there. Instead there was just a shriveled body, curled up as if in eternal agony. Looking around, Keith realized that _every_ person in a tube was in the same state as this figure beside them and his body trembled in horror. His hand clutched at the back of his head, gripping onto his black hair.

             “They’re dead.” Keith whispered hoarsely and everyone’s fears were confirmed. “They’re all dead.”

             “Haggar’s failures.” Thace said quietly and Keith’s entire body trembled violently. _They were all dead. How many of them were there?_ Keith couldn’t even count every single body that was dead, floating in their tube with their hearts and brains ripped out. He didn’t understand why they were dead while he was alive. _Why was he still alive when they were all dead?_ His hands were shaking by his head and his eyes couldn’t possibly get any wider. Another pulse of light. _Why was he alive? Why him? Why? Why? Why?_

             “No.” Pidge’s voice shook, forcing Keith to look up. He noticed that they were standing in front of a lower tank, with a smaller body inside it. “No. No. No. No!” Their sudden shriek startled everyone into action. Shiro was the first to reach Pidge as they banged their fists against the glass of the tank, flanked by Hunk and Lance.

             Shiro’s entire body was immobile upon seeing the body in the tank.

             The body didn’t have a gaping hole in its chest, though one of its les had been replaced by a similar design to that of Shiro’s arms. Their head was still full of hair, floating around them like a halo, with no hole. Their eyes were closed and their skin was so pale that it was almost translucent.

             However, Shiro recognized the figure. He knew them.

             Pidge _knew_ them.

             For inside the tank was Matt.

             “No! No! No!” Pidge screamed and slammed themselves against the tank. Shiro remained frozen where he was, unable to help even if he wanted to.

             Matt was a friend. He was Pidge’s older brother and Shiro’s closest friend. On top of that, he had been a part of Shiro’s team. The same team that had been captured and killed during Shiro’s captivity all those years ago. The same Matt that Shiro _and_ Pidge believed to have been dead. Pidge had always held onto that hope that _maybe,_ just maybe, Matt and their father was still alive. Though, neither of them had hoped to find Matt in such a state.

             “No! No! This isn’t fair! This isn’t fair!” Pidge continued to scream and with each scream, the lumps in everyone’s throats grew bigger and bigger. “He can’t be dead. No, no. Not like this. Please not like this.” It was a pathetic sight to see Pidge so broken by simply seeing their brother, but it tore into the hearts of everyone in the room.

             They were so lost in their agony and red-hot fury, that they hadn’t even noticed Keith standing beside them. _How could this have happened to Matt? Why him?_

             “He’s not dead.” Keith announced softly and for a moment Pidge’s heart skipped a beat. Their screams died down as their breath caught in their throat. Glassy, red eyes turned to face Keith in disbelief, but Keith’s eyes were trained on Matt’s motionless form. “He’s not dead. He has a heartbeat. I can feel it.” Keith whispered softly and Pidge blinked back more tears.

             They didn’t understand. _Not dead?_

             It all happened in a flash and no one was quick enough to stop it.

             Keith had smashed his metallic hand through the glass faster than anyone could blink. Glass and water rained down upon Pidge, Shiro and the others. Matt’s body slumped down by the force of gravity and Keith was quick to grab him, before disconnecting him to any wires within the tube. Once he could process what was happening, Shiro was quick to grab a hold of Matt’s body. It was cold.

           _So very cold._

             But there were faint little breaths against Shiro’s arm from where Matt’s mouth and nose was. _He was breathing._ Quickly, Shiro pressed two fingers to Matt’s neck and almost cried upon finding a heartbeat underneath. Though, it was weak, it was still beating.

             “He’s alive.” Shiro whispered. That was all it took before Pidge was on their brother, almost sobbing with relief. Matt’s didn’t wake up throughout the whole ordeal but with each second that passed, his breathing was growing stronger and stronger. Shiro smiled warmly, mind barely able to comprehend what was happening.

             “We need to get him back to the ship.” Shiro stated quietly. “And see if there are any others alive.” Keith nodded, already moving down the aisle. Shiro regarded Keith quietly, with an aching heart. _This must be hard for him._

             “Pidge, Hunk, get Matt back to the ship for safety. Lance, you follow them and get the ship ready. I don’t think we’ll have much longer to roam here.” Shiro said softly. “My skin is crawling with nerves. This was too easy.” Lance nodded this time, without any sort of a comment and set off. Hunk followed him easily with Matt’s limp body in his arms and Pidge close behind. Just before they disappeared around a corner, Pidge stopped and turned back to face Shiro.

             “Shiro, be careful.” They said and Shiro nodded. “Keith too. Keep him safe.”

             Meanwhile, Keith had walked towards the central unit of the room, staring at it solemnly.

_You will never be free of us._

             Keith stumbled back at the sudden voice in his head. It was familiar and yet, Keith didn’t have a clue as to who it was. The voice was cold and Keith could feel it in his bones – deep within. It sent chills down his spine and made his gut twist uncomfortably.

             _You belong to me. I created you._

             Keith’s legs couldn’t move and his arms were rooted at his sides. It was as if he were paralyzed, unable to move even an inch. As if he wasn’t in control anymore. He couldn’t even move his mouth to speak anymore.

             _You are mine._

“Keith?” Shiro asked, coming up from behind with Thace next to him. Keith’s brain screamed for him to move, to warn Shiro of the voice. However, his body rebelled and refused to move. It was as if Keith was screaming but no one could hear him.

             _No one can hear you. Scream all you can, little monster._

             Keith screamed and screamed but no sounds came out. Shiro and Thace were getting closer and closer and still his body refused to move. He knew that they were in trouble; knew that this wouldn’t end good. His friends were in trouble.

             “My, my, my. I see you’ve been causing some trouble.” Zarkon’s voice suddenly washed over the room and this made everyone freeze up. Although, Keith was already frozen against his will, but hearing Zarkon again, he realized that the voice in his head didn’t belong to Zarkon. Rather it must belong to someone else.

             _Haggar._

             “Zarkon. What is this? What have you done?!” Shiro spat, sounding much braver than Keith felt in that moment. Keith wanted to scream at Shiro to _run._ To get away from this monster. He couldn’t remember everything that had ever been done to him, but his body could remember. Oh, how it remember how much he had suffered at the hands of Zarkon.

             “Ah, the young captain of the Paladins of Earth.” Zarkon said quietly, looking as if he had just realized that Shiro was also in the room. “I see that you must be returning my gift to you. It would appear that its _glitches_ have appeared once more. No worries, Haggar can have that fixed.”

             “Why are you doing this? Why are you lying to us – all of us?!” Shiro snarled, stepping in front of Keith who was still frozen where he was.

             “I don’t possibly know what you meant, young Paladin.” Zarkon simply waved Shiro off. “But I would advise that you leave in your ship with the other Paladins to finish your _original_ mission. You don’t need to be caught up in the middle of all this.” _You have this one chance to forget everything and leave, and I will spare your lives._

             Shiro clenched his jaw tightly. “No. You used us. You used Earth as a pawn in this never-ending war. You’ve murdered thousands of innocent lives and caused millions more to perish under your command. I cannot turn my back on this; abandon my people and let you go. I will not.” Shiro could feel his arm firing up at his side, and this caused Zarkon to finally look directly at him.

             “Paladin, are you _threatening_ me?” Zarkon asked and Keith tried to scream again. “Pity. I saw great potential in you and your team.” Keith then watched in horror as Shiro was thrown across the room just as Haggar materialized in front of him. Still Keith couldn’t even turn his head, but he could hear the sound of Shiro’s body hitting the wall.

             “Finish him. Kill the others.” Zarkon commanded and Haggar cackled. Thace looked from Keith to Shiro, noticing that Keith was still frozen where he was. As he was about to reach out towards Keith, he felt his own body thrown beside Shiro’s and all the air left him in a rush when he slammed against the wall.

             “You have no business in their discussion.” Haggar growled, sending a bolt of electricity towards the two men on the floor. There was a bright flash of light, a burst of pain and Thace and Shiro found themselves screaming.

x.x.V.x.x

Please forgive me.

_I’m sorry._

x.x.V.x.x

             Keith’s blood ran cold at the sounds of Shiro and Thace screaming. They sounded to be in so much agony and Keith was begging to free himself of this control. He desperately tried to break free in order to help them but he found that he could do nothing more than watch Zarkon.

             _I’ve failed._

             “You’ve caused me a lot of trouble K31T4.” Zarkon sighed and Keith screamed again. _That’s not my name._ Zarkon slowly stepped down towards the frozen droid and observed him. “You are Haggar’s greatest creation. The closest to success we’ve had. And how wonderful you were under our control. Mindless obeying our orders for decades.”

             _I’ve failed. I’ve failed._

             Keith tried to twitch his fingers.

             “You were so loyal and willing to kill for us,” _I’ve failed._ “But you always seemed to _return_ after a while. We couldn’t keep the control on you, no matter how much of your body that we took.”

             _I’ve failed. I’ve failed._

             Keith tried to move his toes.

             “We took your heart first. Then your leg and your arm.” Zarkon continued while Keith screamed in his own mind. “We made you _stronger_.  Built you as a weapon for my empire. You were my greatest weapon and yet, we couldn’t stop you from coming back. We experimented on others, taking everything from them, even taking away their brain. Their control. But as you can see, that never ended well.” Zarkon gestured to the hundreds of bodies surrounding them with a cruel smile that made Keith sick.

             _I’ve failed._

             He tried to move his lips.

             “We came close to figuring you out, with the Champion.” Zarkon’s eyes suddenly shifted over Keith’s shoulders to where Shiro and Thace had stopped screaming. Keith could hear them running and Haggar laughing maniacally at them, with bursts of lightning. _Shiro._ “It’s a shame he got away from us before we could do any real damage. All we were able to do was replace his arm; yet another gift from me. Maybe I’ll keep him alive, if only to have you watch him _suffer.”_

             _I’ve failed._

             “As for those others pitiful humans, why, I’m sure they’re already dead by now.” Zarkon’s grin was too wide and too revealing. Not at all like one of Shiro’s smiles or Lance’s. “Don’t you see what you’ve done K31T4? You’ve led them all to their deaths?” Keith’s stomach dropped.

             _I’ve…_

             “You should have left well enough alone.” Zarkon murmured, with a flick of his wrist. Behind Keith, Shiro and Thace yelled as Haggar laughed again and there was a loud rumble. “Because of you, K31T4, they will all die. Just like the others.”

             _No. No._

_That’s not my name._

_I am not K31T4._

_I am Keith._

             In that moment, Keith felt stronger than he had in what felt like centuries. He could feel warmth and power radiating through his body, unfreezing him from where he was standing. He could feel his arms and legs moving _(back in his control once more)_ and he lept towards Zarkon. Zarkon’s purple eyes momentarily widened in surprised, but just as quickly he was avoiding Keith’s arm which had formed into a blade.

             Keith rolled to protect himself once he hit the ground before swiftly standing up and raising the blade.

             “My name is Keith.” Keith huffed, wiping a hand across his mouth. “And _no one_ controls me anymore.” With that, Keith lunged at Zarkon once more, full of fury and passion of which he had never experienced before. Thoughts of Shiro and Thace crossed his mind, and Lance, Hunk and Pidge. His family needed him now more than ever. He would not give up.

             Zarkon easily stepped away from Keith’s attack and grabbed his skinny ankle. He tossed Keith into a wall of glass tanks, which shattered upon impact and Keith dropped to the floor like a sack of potatoes. Dimly in the back of his mind, Keith was aware that he hadn’t felt any pain but knew his body was damaged by the attack.

             He lunged again, this time with the blade before him. Zarkon avoided his attack, but the blade snagged him along the shoulder. As soon as Keith had passed him, Zarkon had fired a blast of energy at Keith, throwing him back against the metal of the central unit. The metal crunched underneath Keith and Keith tossed his head back upon impact before falling to the floor.

             “You pathetic excuse for a soldier.” Zarkon snarled, easily grabbing Keith by the throat and raising him off the floor. Keith struggled weakly against the hold and kicked out at Zarkon. “We created you and we can finish you just as easily.”

             “No!” Keith’s eyes flashed red and he struck the blade down against Zarkon’s wrist. Zarkon howled and blood spluttered out of the wound on his wrist. He let go of Keith, who quickly backed away from the Galra leader. “You don’t control me! Not anymore.” Keith yelled and his stabbed his blade along Zarkon’s side, grazing his entire right side.

             Zarkon snarled viciously, grabbing the blade, despite it digging into his palm. Since the blade was attached to Keith, Keith was thrown across the room into another set of tanks. Water and glass fell on top of him when he hit the floor with a heavy thump.

             Wearily, Keith could see Thace and Shiro both fighting against Haggar as hard as they could. But Keith could easily see that both of them were bleeding and wounded. Before he could cry out to them, a large hand gripped his hair and hauled him off the ground only to slam his back into the metal base of the central unit. Electrical pulses pushed past Keith, radiating incredible heat off them. Looking up, Keith could only stare into a pair of haunting purple eyes.

             “You are _mine.”_ Zarkon hissed and slammed Keith into the metal once more. This time, Keith did cry out but more from the impact rather than pain. He still hadn’t felt any pain, not like a human should have felt by now. As quick as he could, Keith’s arm morphed into a cannon laser and he fired it off before Zarkon had the chance to move.

             Zarkon was blown back into an already destroyed tank, as Keith stumbled. His knees felt weak and his entire body was trembling. Dimly he was aware that his systems were beginning to shut down. He was overworking his body and his system couldn’t handle too much more.

             Keith was unaware of Haggar disappearing and reappearing right behind him with one clawed hand raised and full of crackling electricity, until it was too late.

             “Keith!” Shiro and Thace both screamed and Keith watched in horror as Haggar brought her hand down to strike.

             His horror only grew when Thace appeared out of thin air, directly in front of Keith and taking the brunt of the attack from Haggar. Blood splattered along Keith when Haggar’s hand slashed across Thace’s entire front side and Thace went down with a heavy thud. Keith’s eyes widened when Thace was motionless on the floor. _Was this what death looked like?_

There was almost no time to recover before something else was happening.

             As hot, angry tears welled in Keith’s eyes, he was stunned to see a hand strike out and protrude from Haggar’s chest from behind. The hand was glowing a familiar purple color, covered in black blood. Haggar’s surprised expression mirrored Keith’s, until her eyes rolled back in her head and she limply fell over. Behind her, stood Shiro, looking angrier than Keith had ever seen him.

             And yet, there was a terrifying ferocity within Shiro that no one had seen before. Not even Keith. This man was capable of many terrible things, all in the name of saving his team and his family.

             “Shiro…” Keith whispered.

             Shiro looked over at Keith, his expression softening ever so slightly upon seeing Keith alive. “Keith, are you okay?”

             Suddenly, behind them Keith could hear Zarkon snarling dangerously as he got up from the wreckage. Keith’s mind began to race and the thought of Zarkon _killing_ Shiro terrified him. He didn’t know if Thace was dead or alive but if he wasn’t alive, Keith couldn’t bear to lose Shiro too. Not after he and the others had saved him.

             “Go! Get out of here. Get Thace to safety and make sure the others are safe!” Keith commanded, turning around so that his back was facing Shiro and Keith.

             “I’m not leaving you behind!” Shiro barked and Keith swallowed thickly.

             “Shiro go. Thace needs medical help.” Keith said softly, watching as Zarkon emerged from the destroyed tank with eyes glowing and claws posed. “Please, the others need you. Get out of here.”

             “Keith…”

             “Now!” Keith shouted when Zarkon jumped towards him. Not allowing Zarkon to get any closer to either of his friends, Keith jumped at him and they both clashed upon impact. Locked in a tight fight, Keith risked a glance over his shoulder to see Shiro pulling Thace over his shoulder. Shiro hesitated to leave, stopping for a moment to lock eyes with Keith. However, upon seeing the desperate plead in Keith’s eyes he ran out of the room with the sound of an alarm blaring.

             “You fool!” Zarkon cried out, grabbing Keith’s neck and slamming his face into the ground. Keith could feel bits of metal and bone break through the skin as he was slammed into the ground again. As quick as he could, he grabbed Zarkon’s arm and hauled it over his shoulder so that Zarkon fell back into the ground in front of him. He dodged another burst of energy fired at him, this one missing the central unit by inches. Zarkon huffed and recalculated his fire and shot further away from the unit.

             Keith easily dodged attacked after attack but was unable to put his own attack on Zarkon. He could feel his body beginning to wear down and the need to recharge _(to sleep)_ was evident. His body was failing him but he couldn’t give up, not while his family still had a chance

             Keith jumped again when Zarkon fired a pulse of energy at him, narrowly avoiding the central unit. He seemed to be conscious of avoiding the unit and Keith frowned. A pulse of electricity ran up the sides of the unit and Keith swallowed.

             “That’s the power source. Without it, you have nothing.” Keith realized slowly. Zarkon roared and charged towards Keith, only for Keith to narrowly miss a hit from Zarkon. He turned back to stare at the central unit and then look down at his hands. He knew what had to be done, but he didn’t know of the consequences that would come of said actions.

             “…th?...ith?...Keith?” A static voice filled the small device in Keith’s ear. It was a comm device that Keith had forgotten about. He almost cried upon hearing Shiro’s voice. What a blessing it was to know that he was still safe, and that Keith’s fights hadn’t been for nothing.

             “Shiro?” Keith asked, watching Zarkon as he turned around to attack once more. Zarkon was standing just to the side of the central unit, but was even closer to it than Keith was. He knew what he had to do.

             “Yeah. We’re okay. We’re all okay, and on the ship.” Shiro said quietly.

             “We’re here! Where the heck are you mullet-head? I hear you found the ugly frog lord.” Lance piped it and Keith felt a sob escape him during a short laugh. Zarkon snarled.

             “Can you fly out?” Keith asked.

             “Yes we can. We have a clear shot. Are you close by for pick up? We can leave as soon as you arrive.” Pidge cut in softly and Keith sniffled.

             “Leave now.” Keith said and the others began shouting in his ear piece.

             “Keith! No, we are not leaving you behind.” Hunk huffed angrily and Keith almost cried out again. _That’s what Shiro said. Why do you care about me so much?_

             “You have to. I know how to stop Zarkon and end this.” Keith said. At his side, his hand was morphing back into the familiar laser cannon. This time it felt lighter at his side, rather than heavy, and his chest felt lighter. Zarkon crouched, ready to attack – one that Keith knew he couldn’t avoid. His body was tired. Too tired.

             “How? We can help Keith.” Lance whispered, voice cracking and Keith smiled. “Let us help you.”

             “You already have,” Keith eyed Zarkon warily. “All of you. Thank you for saving me.”

             “No, Keith don’t do this. Please don’t.” Pidge pleaded desperately and Keith’s closed his eyes at the sound of their pain. They heard Zarkon growl once more and slowly Keith took a deep breath. He was content with this. He just wished the others could be too.

             “Thank you.” Keith smiled, tears dripping down his cheeks as his cannon rose and he aimed it. Directly at the control center. _It might kill you. It probably will, but it will destroy Zarkon. This must end today._ “You gave me a home again. And a family. You gave me a _name._ Please, don’t let anyone else wake me if I should be recovered in the future. I’d rather die now than wake up to everyone dead and with another century having passed me by. I don’t want to be alone anymore.”

             Keith smiled bitterly and cocked the barrel of the cannon. “Please don’t save me unless it is you I can see first.”

             Then Keith fired.

             Zarkon lunged.

x.x.V.x.x

             Zarkon had been defeated and exposed. Everyone in the galaxy had known of his atrocities and his followers were convicted. The princess of Altea, Allura, had taken control of the last of the Aleans (so very little were left now) and fought back against Zarkon’s command.

             Peace rang through the galaxies.

            It wasn’t over though, and there were still those loyal to Zarkon and to the empire. They had a new war to fight, one that they were sure to win. With new hope and new allies on their side. Zarkon’s empire didn’t fall in one single day, but one day it _would_ fall.

             The Blade of Marmora was reunited with Thace’s recovery. He would never be able to wield a weapon again nor fight, but he had hoped he never would have to.

             The Paladins of Earth were hailed as heroes.

             Celebrations rang to the ends of galaxies. Songs were sung and stories were told of the brave defenders of the universe.

             The princess had been a key part to the defense lowering at Earth. Allura had known Akira, but not his face, and was entrusted with the knowledge of Earth’s return. All it required was the quintessence of the princess, a Galra not loyal to Zarkon and a human willing to return home. It took some time, but soon enough the last of Earth’s defenses were lowered.

             Earth was free, and for the first time in over 200 years humans set foot back on their home planet. _This time it was to stay._ Lance was the first human to set foot on Earth, on the beaches of what was once called Cuba.

             But the Paladins mourned. For while Zarkon had been killed, so had their friend.

           _Keith._

             Pidge eventually recovered a fragment of a body. Just a torso, two arms and a head, lost in the wreckage. It was after Matt had recovered enough to aid them in their search. He felt that he owed this person his life for bringing him home and saving him from a terrible fate.

             The body had familiar black hair and pale skin. One arm was half morphed into a cannon and half back into an arm and the other was mangled by debris.

             There was no heartbeat.

             But there were brain waves.

             So, the Paladins of Earth reassembled him as best as they could and waited.

             They waited.

             Waited.

             _And waited._

x.x.V.x.x

             His world was dark and fuzzy, as if he were under water. Opening his eyes felt like an exhausting task,like there were sandbags on his eyelids. However, he managed to open his eyes and the world slowly came into focus.                

             It took a few times to blink but soon enough, he could make out the blurry shape of not one, not two, not three, but four figures huddled over him. He frowned.

             “Welcome home Keith.”

             Keith found that despite just waking up, he couldn’t help but smile at the familiar voice. “I’m home.”

x.x.V.x.x

_What does it mean to be human?_

_To love._


End file.
